Timeline
Tools
Role
August 2021 - May 2022
UX Designer
UX/UI Design, Product Design, User Research, Prototyping, Micro-interactions, Copywriting, Branding
Figma, InVision, Miro, Adobe After Effects
Flourish
Plant care made simple.
Flourish
Competitive Analysis
Feature Prioritization
Uses Interviews (Listening with Empathy)
My Role
Overview
1.1 User Research
1.2 User Research
1.3 User Research
Problem
Solution
Scope
CONSOLIDATING FINDINGS
CONSOLIDATING FINDINGS
User REsearch
Problem statement
Flourish is a multimedia solution that takes the form of a mobile app and an Internet of Things (IoT) device to allow plant owners to better explore, manage, and care for their plants in an effective way. This was a senior design capstone that won 1st place at Drexel University under the Entrepreneurship and Innovation category for senior capstones and received “Silver Winner” for the Muse Awards” - an international design competition.
Since this space of plant care tracking and reminders was already saturated, I wanted to explore what was currently successful, could be improved, and how our product could be unique in the plant care market. I conducted a competitive analysis to understand the strengths/weaknesses of existing solutions. By evaluating competitor’s features, usability, and user feedback, I identified gaps in the market and opportunities to improve the user experience. This research helped shape our team’s design decisions, ensuring the solution provides a more intuitive and user-centered solution for plant lovers.
Next, I developed a matrix based off of the competitive analysis findings to prioritize potential features and create an early roadmap so that the design and development can discuss feasibility and priorities.
I conducted user interviews to gain deeper insights into the challenges plant owners face in maintaining healthy plants, including their true motivations and behaviors regarding plant care. By speaking directly with users, I uncovered common pain points, such as difficulty in tracking water schedules, uncertainty about light conditions, and lack of real-time plant health insights.
Plant owners value convenience and access to a unified source of information and resources to feel successful in their plant care journey. Below are few questions asked:
Tell me about the last plant you cared for?
What is your typical routine with caring for your plant?
What tools and resources do you use to help manage your plants?
Do you feel frustrations toward plant care? If so, why?
Please rate your level of confidence with caring for houseplants.
Plant enthusiasts need tips and reminders in the beginning of their plant journey to feel confident and supported in caring for their plants. Many plant lovers struggle to keep their plants healthy due to inconsistent care, lack of knowledge, and difficulty monitoring plant needs. Factors like incorrect, watering, insufficient light, etc. often lead to plant stress or even death.
To solve this, our plant care app, paired with an IoT device, offers real-time monitoring and tailored insights to help users maintain optimal plant health. By tracking key factors like soil moisture, light exposure, and temperature, the app provides timely alerts and recommendations, making plant care effortless and effective.
Existing solutions on the current market, such as generic plant care guides, fail to provide real-time, personalized recommendations based on a plant’s unique environment. To help solve this, I set out to uncover a convenient method to take care of plants and provide plant owners with accurate information and tools to keep their plants happy and healthy.
Goals:
Identify opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT) market and devise a solution based on plant owners needs and pain points.
Allow plant owners to have flexible and efficient methods to care for their plants.
Prioritize user engagement, involvement, and connection.
Problem Statement: How might we bring about an innovative, positive, and effortless experience with plant care?
I was responsible for user research, competitive analysis, visual design, branding, prototyping, and copywriting. I created multiple experiences including the gamification/rewards experience, onboarding the IoT device and pairing it with the mobile app, landing page, and plant education through Figma for visual designs and Adobe After Effects for micro-interactions. My team consisted of designers and software engineers where we all participated in the overall discovery, ideation, and product research.
Process Overview
Discovery
Affinity Diagram
Participatory Design Workshops
Overview Process
my design approach
Below are the points I engaged in the most throughout the internship and project.
User Research
Analysis
Design
Themes
Personas
Plant Owner User Journey
Sketches
Plant IoT Device
Analysis
IDEATION
IDEATION
IDEATION
Visual Prototype
Our target audience are extremely busy people and lack the time to care for their plants due to forgetfulness.
Plant owners wish for a convenient and easy way to access plant information on the fly.
Finding plant information online is one thing, but understanding it quickly is another need.
Insight #1: Convenience
1
Sometimes plant owners wouldn’t know the name of their plants so they couldn’t search for accurate info for those plants.
Need to address how different plants have different needs.
Plant owners wanted to be educated further on plant knowledge such as techniques and how to grow in expertise.
Insight #2: Different Needs
2
Plant owners mentioned water the most in comparison to other plant needs.
Some struggle with understanding about other plant needs, not just water.
Not understanding the amount when it comes to caring for plants whether that be water, soil, etc.
Insight #3: Sensor Prioritization
3
Flourish is an app that provides care recommendations about your plant, paired with a sensor device that detects:
SENSOR DEVICE
Consists of 4 sensors that measure the soil moisture, light intensity, temperature, and humidity in real-time. This data is rendered live and sent to the mobile app.
THE PLANT
The sensor would be directly placed into the plant’s soil by a couple of inches.
MOBILE APP
Live plant data from the sensors are displayed on the app that are translated in an easy and understanding format with emoji icons.
1
2
3
Discovery
Test/Iterations
Your Personal Garden
Key Factors
Expand Your Knowledge
Manage Your Tasks
Gamify Your Experience
Feature 1
Available Sensors
Feature 3
Feature 2
Feature 4
Informative home screen to showcase the four sensors and currently owned plants
Can monitor health status of plants over time and make informed care decisions
Real-time plant health data translated from sensor device to mobile app
Provide quick tutorials to learn a technique or task on-the-go
Complete learning courses to expand expertise in different areas of plant care
Enjoy tips throughout the day for more personalized engagement
Track and organize your plants with different calendar layout views
Select filters for specific plants
Set and receive care reminders for tasks
Engage in gameplay elements and earn achievements throughout plant-care journey
Increase user engagement by making plant care fun and simple
Earn and collect badges for different plant care tasks
Flourish Style Guide
branding
Takeaways
REFLECTION
Biggest Limitation: Time
Expand More Plant Care Knowledge
Perform Further User Testing
If there was more time I would further explore additional plant care sensors or education on plant care opportunities for plant owners.
Learn how to help a beginner plant care owner become an intermediate plant owner to an advanced and expert owner. Figure out how to level up and create a more seamless transition for those level advancements.
If there was more time, I would continue with further A/B testing and usability testings for the garden layouts and main navigation to see which would be the most efficient design to help plant owners find what they need quicker.
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03
Let’s Connect! 👋🏼
vynguyen.ux@gmail.com
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Made with love © 2025 Vy Nguyen
Feel free to reach out for collaborations or just a friendly hello.
GitHub
Based off of our user research findings, these were the four primary factors that plant owners found the most important to keep track of. These were the factors we prioritized for our sensors for the IoT device.
EDUCATION SCREEN
Learn and Grow
Don’t know where to start? Flourish provides learning tutorials to support and expand your plant knowledge.
GARDEN SCREEN
Looking to keep your plants happy and healthy? You can monitor their statuses over time and make care decisions through accurate information from the sensor to the app.
Your Journey Begins
PLANT INFO SCREEN
Monitor Plant’s Health
Get real-time plant health data and be informed of accurate next steps to maintaining your plant’s best condition!
Gamify Your Experience
REWARDS SCREEN
You can engage in gameplay elements and earn achievements throughout their plant-care journey.
CALENDAR SCREEN
Track and Organize
Need care reminders? You can set reminders and tasks and keep organize for your plants in a calendar layout.
Soil Moisture
Sunlight
Temperature
Humidity
Colors
ATOMS
Green Garden
#6D8C70
Yellow Tip
#FFCF00
CTA Orange
#FF7C1D
Text Blue
#143F49
Text Dark Grey
#353535
Faded Green Garden
#DCE6DB
Background
#F5F7FB
Brown Pot
#B78952
Text Alert Red
#E92000
Text Warning Yellow
#E7A600
Text Passing Green
#00A083
White
#FFFFFF
Icons
ATOMS
Typography
ATOMS
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3 Bold
Heading 3 Regular
Body Text
Sub Header Text
Paragraph
Filson Soft Bold / 28pt
Filson Soft Bold / 20pt
Filson Soft Bold / 16pt
Filson Soft W03 Regular / 16pt
Lato Medium / 16pt
Filson Soft W03 Regular / 14pt
Lato Regular / 14pt
Lato Regular / 14pt / 50% Opacity
Placeholder
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Parturient tellus morbi nullam libero porta lobortis euismod. Dui eget consequat elit arcu libero. In enim elit morbi ultrices. Et dignissim pulvinar consequat tincidunt. Mauris hac mattis pellentesque id. Orci fermentum, sed eget montes, interdum fusce a justo dapibus. Nunc maecenas sollicitudin in elementum ipsum tempus sit. Consequat, eu id viverra sodales at tortor viverra.
About
FONT COMBINATION SAMPLE
TEXT COMPONENTS
Filson Soft (Header Font)
Lato (Paragraph Font)
Black
Heavy
Bold
Semi Bold
Medium
Regular (Paragraph Font)
Thin
Light
Hairline
Heavy Italic
Black Italic
Bold (Header Font)
Medium Italic
Regular Italic
Regular
Thin Italic
FONT
Solution
SENSOR DEVICE
Consists of 4 sensors that measure the soil moisture, light intensity, temperature, and humidity in real-time. This data is rendered live and sent to the mobile app.
THE PLANT
The sensor would be directly placed into the plant’s soil by a couple of inches.
1
2
MOBILE APP
Live plant data from the sensors are displayed on the app that are translated in an easy and understanding format with emoji icons.
3
A/B Testing
User Testing
I performed A/B testing sessions throughout our design iterations and sprints to determine the best default layout for the Garden Home Screen - which allowed me to base my design decisions on user data and feedback rather than guesswork. Examples below: