Esha Nalla Portfolio

Florish

Your Personal Plantcare Assistant

The Issue

Beginner and advanced plant parents alike struggle to find simple and accessible tools to assist them in their plant care journey, often unable to care for their plants as effectively as they wish to. So, our goal was to create a simple and impactful personal healthcare tool utilizing AI and VUI elements.

Our Proccess

Team: Leslie Kwok, Lia Chon and Esha Nalla

Approach:

We first conducted autoethnography of ourselves as beginner plant parents as well as interview three others in different age groups, lifestyle and plant care experience. We also conducted a competitor analysis to understand what exists, what preexisting assistance lacks and how we can improve on this. From this, we focused on three main stages of plant care to ensure simplicity: New Plant, Monitoring and Emergency.

(I'd love to talk about what we learned!)

Approach:

(I'd love to talk about what we learned!)

Ideation:

While we knew what we wanted to focus on, we struggled to agree on what form it should take, each of us brainstorming ten features that could be beneficial for our concept and potentially guide us on what to focus on.

We ended up focusing on three features, each corresponding to our three main stages: Room Scan, Status Badges and Amputation Guide.

Storyboards and Wireframes:

At this point, we were focusing on an AR experience using goggles to interact with plant care in a unique way, however we decided to also dabble in a mobile app in case our idea's felt too out of reach for a feesable design.

Roadblocks:

At this point, we were still very unsure on pursuing an AR route for our product, with many of our ideas and wishes for this being too unrealistic and out of reach for modern technology. While we knew how we wanted the product to be used, we also had trouble with our wireframes, struggling to accurately map out how an AR experience would look overall. Due to this, we ultimately decided to focus more on a mobile app rather than an AR experience, focusing on feasibility and accessibility.

Flows + Design System:

We prioritized our app design by quickly establishing a user flow and a design system. Our goal was to create a seamless and intuitive navigation experience for users. Additionally, we aimed to give the app a refreshing, plant-inspired aesthetic that aligns with the theme of plant care.

Finalizing:

We focused on refining our workflow to provide users with a seamless and straightforward experience. Additionally, we made minor adjustments to the color palette, choosing a more vibrant green to bring the user interface to life, as the previous color selection felt dull.

Finalizing:

Reflection:

This project provided valuable insights as I experimented with voice user interfaces (VUI) and augmented reality (AR) elements. It broadened my perspective on the potential of design and how to effectively leverage today’s technology to assist people in their daily lives. Additionally, it enhanced my ability to visualize interactions through storyboarding and wireframing, as my teammates and I collaborated to create the most seamless and effective app possible.