Sprout Swap

Case Study By: Emily Ledbetter

Project Overview:

Identify a problem that can be solved using a digital product. Conduct research, iterations, and testing to develop a solution.

Problem Statement:

As urban spaces become more crowded, people living in apartments or small spaces often struggle to create personal green areas. Additionally, people with similar plant interests don’t have a dedicated space to connect and share advice. There’s also a lack of virtual communities focused on specific plant types or gardening techniques.

My Solution

A social platform where plant enthusiasts can join plant-specific communities (e.g., cactus lovers, tropical plants, indoor gardening) and share tips, images, and plant-related news. Users could also create plant care tutorials or collaborate on plant exchange projects. Users could adopt plants from a community garden, receive guidance on growing in small spaces, and swap or donate plants once they've grown.

Research

A survey was conducted to pull some information regarding the highs and lows of plant keeping and to identify some gaps in the market. Here are some of the stand out results.

Question

If/when you run into problems with your plants, what kind of digital platform do you use to find information most often?

Question

Would you be interested in sharing/trading plants with other people? 

Service Name

Question

Have you or would you ever give your plant to a friend or acquaintance so they could bring it back to life? 

When asked how respondents plants died, 80% said that they forgot to water it.

Question 1:

Question 2:

Question 3:

I there anything you would like to know more about plants?

What plants are best in a classroom to better air quality
Best plants to keep in your house
Benefits of each plant
More about watering succulents

Respondents went 50/50 on whether they live in a house or apartment.

Question 4:

How could an app or website involving plants help you connect with others in your community?

I could post a picture of a dying plant and ask why it might be dying
Reddit but for house plants
Offer plant exchange nights
Common interests bring people together

Take Aways from survey:
1. The platform that should be created for this product should be a webpage. When people have questions or run into problems, they are more likely to google a solution before opening an app. This platform should also be scalable for mobile devices.

2. Most people are not educated on how to care for a plant. Information should be provided to help with this issue.

3. Options should be available for people to interact with one another. One of those could be trading with one another. People also seemed interested in the idea of plant doctors.

Benchmarking

I took a look at multiple different web page forums that talk about plants. I also looked at a couple of different web pages on a phone to wee how some things changed.

Such cute details for the white space. It would be nice to be able to add nice details like this

It would be great to add content like this for people who are not entirely sure what succulents are.

The picture is a really nice touch. It adds a lot of color to an otherwise colorless web page.

This message groups drop down seems to be much more affective that flipping to another page. This could be a good way to guide users without taking up so much space.

This bottom bar is effective and fun but a bit too decorative and almost hard to read. Keeping this part simple and clear would be best.

This website has a discussion aspect added on, I think this would be a great feature to add.

I looked at a website on a computer and a phone. Here is the web browser and there is a long navigation bar at the top with other icons all included.

Here on the phone the navigation bar has been condensed into a hamburger menu. Icons are still there just enlarged.

On the trading page of my website there is a section that displays the plant. On the phone display the picture is large and takes up a majority to the screen. There is a stacked element to it.

Various elements were used throughout my bench marking to inspire my final designs.

Sketches

Home Page

Community Page

Trading Page

Community Page

Discussion Page

Information Page.

Home Page

Login/Signup

Logo Ideation

Sprout Swap

Wireflow

Mid-Fi's

User Testing

Multiple user tests were conducted. I asked users to navigate through the website and then asked for feedback on the UX design. Tests were also conducted on the hi-fi prototype and I asked for feedback on my UI designs. The highlighted key takeaways are bellow.

User Test #1

There were some click-ability issues that needed to be addressed
Plant trading should be accessible on the home page
Create a page outlining the specifics of the quiz

User Test #3

There is a wording issue on the home page that needed to be addressed
There should be separate pop up menus for each section
Enlarge some of the wording on the sign up page
Add a button to the quiz page

User Test #2

Create a log-out page instead of a log-in/sign up page. Make the website as if someone is already logged in
Add on some clickable buttons vs. just having text

User Test #4

Make the navigation bar at the top sticky and then there will be no need for navigation at the bottom.
Add groups for the messaging forum
Add more engagement on the learning page