Planterra is a mobile app concept designed to help plant owners care for their collections with confidence while connecting plant lovers in a supportive community. Built as my senior capstone project, this app blends guided plant care, reminders, and social sharing into a calm, intuitive interface meant for users of all experience levels.
New plant owners often lack the knowledge and confidence to care for their plants, leading to confusion, inconsistent routines, and unhealthy plants.
Background & goals
This personal project was inspired by the surge in houseplant ownership during the pandemic. As more people brought nature indoors, I noticed many first-time plant owners struggled to keep their plants healthy. As an avid gardener, I wanted to explore why this was happening and how design could help make plant care more approachable.
01Create an intuitive, user-centered experience that makes key tasks simple, efficient, and enjoyable.
02Develop a scalable design system that ensures consistency across the product and supports future growth.
03Design a complete mobile app experience from research and strategy through final UI and prototyping.
Research → strategy
Before beginning the design process, I spent 3–5 months researching houseplants, their owners, the plant industry, and potential users. This research uncovered why people were struggling and gave me the insights needed to design meaningful solutions. From there, I tested my proposed ideas through in-person research, including card sorting and user surveys. Whenever a solution missed the mark, I held in-depth conversations to uncover what I was overlooking, then refined and retested until the fit the needs of the user.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Doing competitive research allowed me to gain insights into the Plant Care industry and determine strengths and weaknesses of competitors. By doing this research I saw a lack of personal connection in the user experience. At this step, I determined what features would set me apart from others while giving an effective experience.
RESULTS The results of the market research showed the type of people who were struggling to take care of plants and the problems they were experiencing. Once the market is established then I did some research into competitors who were currently addressing those problems and what they could possibly be missing.
USER RESEARCH The user survey was a questionnaire distributed to over 100 individuals. The questions were carefully developed by backtracking from what I truly wanted to understand—how users interact with plant care, what influences their purchasing decisions, and what they need to care for plants successfully. The insights gathered from this research were instrumental in shaping tools that enhance the overall user experience.
RESULTS
The majority of the respondents found the most difficult part of growing/owning a plant to be the wilting and bugs. This leads me to believe they have more of a problem with maintenance rather than remembering when to water their plants.
A large percentage of indoor gardeners also tend to gain a lot of their information from the internet. This can be a daunting task when you need a quick answer on what is happening to your plant.
Many also found they obtained their plants out of serendipity and not by choice, this was because they were highly intimidated by the challenge of growing a plant.
CARD SORTING Card sorting helps the analysis phase of UI/UX design by revealing how users naturally group and label information, allowing designers to create a more intuitive structure and navigation system that aligns with user expectations.
EMPATHY MAPPING Empathy mapping gave me vital information about the concerns, questions, feelings, and overall enjoyment people would experience towards the subject of plant care. Being able to talk and experience others emotional connection with plant care, whether good or bad, allowed me to visualize what areas of plant care to target.
PERSONAS User personas are shaped from all the previous research methods and answers. These personas are more acute than the provisionals and allowed me to determine more information of the motivations and needs of the users. Personas provided crucial insight into what type of person will be using my app and how I can aid them in accomplishing their goals.
PRODUCT ROADMAPPING Created detailed product maps to visualize features, workflows, and interactions, ensuring a cohesive design that aligns with both user needs and business goals.
USER JOURNEY Mapped the end-to-end user journey to identify pain points, highlight key touch points, and uncover opportunities for a smoother, more engaging experience.
*Designing without understanding users risks creating a product no one wants or can use.
Process
After compiling the research, my solution was Planterra. This is an application that would solve the problem of people killing their houseplants while also providing a helpful and friendly community of plant people. The main functions of the application are the plant identification (camera authenticator), library (guide of all plants with helpful information), doctor (for houseplant diseases and on-demand help), as well as a community of other plant lovers whom you would be able to connect with to trade, view their shelf, and get helpful information.
01
Product Roadmap
I identify the features that matter most, remove unnecessary complexity, and prioritize functionality to create a more purposeful user experience.
02
Sitemap
Research is translated into a clear user experience through site maps, user flows, and wireframes. This process organizes content, reduces friction, and creates an intuitive path for users.
03
Wireframe
This is where the experience begins to take shape. Wireframes define layout, hierarchy, and user flow, while early interaction patterns help reduce friction and create a more intuitive experience.
04
Design System
I establish a design system that unifies typography, color, spacing, and reusable components, ensuring a consistent and efficient experience across every screen.
PROCESS PHOTOS
PRODUCT ROADMAP
SITEMAP
WIREFRAMES
The solution
Key takeaways
01
Placeholder takeaway — a lesson that shows how you think.
02
Placeholder takeaway — something you would do differently.
03
Placeholder takeaway — what you carried into the next project.
