Project Goals
The goal of this project was to design the minimal viable product for a mobile application from scratch. After brainstorming a list of ideas, I considered community gardening and how I've always wanted to join one, but never knew how to go about it. I started asking some questions and soon came up with the idea of connecting individual gardeners to the community garden organizers. Thus, Flourish was born!
Roles
Sole UX Designer
Tools
Figma, Maze, Miro, Adobe Illustrator, Canva
Timeline
2 weeks
Action Plan
1. Research
2. Ideation & Information Architecture
3. User Interface Design
4. Test & Iterate
1. Research
Methodologies
・Provisional personas
・1:1 Customer Interviews
・1:1 Customer Interviews
Goals
・What motivates community gardeners?
・How might someone join a community garden?
・How are community gardens organized?
・What pain points currently exist?
・How might someone join a community garden?
・How are community gardens organized?
・What pain points currently exist?
I chose to conduct interviews for my garden research. I interviewed 2 community garden organizers and 2 people with previous community gardening experience. I used the tool 'Miro' to synthesize my findings into affinity maps.
Given the dual-sided nature of my app, I created two separate personas, one for a community garden organizer and one for a gardener. I wanted to put myself in the shoes of the user so I could better understand their needs and make sure I create an app that's actually helpful.
2. Ideation & Information Architecture
Methodologies
・Sitemap
・Task flow
・User flow
・Product roadmap
・Wireframes (lo-fidelity)
・Task flow
・User flow
・Product roadmap
・Wireframes (lo-fidelity)
Goals
・Determine app's information architecture
・Choose essential user flow and screens to design
・Uncover hidden hurdles
・Choose essential user flow and screens to design
・Uncover hidden hurdles
I created the sitemap from the perspective of the gardener. The bottom navigation is the most important aspect for my MVP and as you can tell, the users will have limited options within the app. Given how simple the main function of the app is, I wanted the IA for this version to be as intuitive as possible.
I created a task flow and user flow for Quinn. At the very least, Quinn needs to be able to find a garden and message them so he can get in contact and learn more about the garden. I outlined the steps required of him so that I had something to guide my wireframes down the line.
I started my wireframes with a few sketches and then I started digitizing my favorites in Figma. You'll also notice some disparity between these initial wireframes and what you'll see down the line.
3. User Interface Design
Methodologies
・Branding & logo design
・Wireframes (high-fidelity)
・Prototyping
・Wireframes (high-fidelity)
・Prototyping
Goals
・Design logo and brand identity
・Apply style guide to wireframes
・Prototype user flow to prepare for testing
・Apply style guide to wireframes
・Prototype user flow to prepare for testing
I chose to incorporate earth tones into both the logo design and the color palette. I approached the process by staying open minded and experimenting. I picked a few of my most recent film photos and used Canva to pull colors from them. I ended up with 4 different color palettes, from which I pulled 4 total colors from. I like using a light, standard, and dark version of each of my colors.
Since my essential user flow can be accessed in multiple different ways, I ended up creating wireframes for almost every page for the MVP. I also realized that my sitemap and initial wireframes had features that were not really confined to the MVP. I decided to get rid of the 'Home' navigation option and replaced it with the 'Search' option. This version of the app isn't about exploring and discovering gardens for fun. It's more practical and confined to utility: find a garden, reach out, and join.
I protyped the main user flow, but since the main user flow can be performed in multiple different ways, I ended up prototyping almost the entire MVP. I wanted to make sure my usability test participants could give me more feedback about the overall feel of the app, be it IA, UI, or UX.
4. Test & Iterate
Methodologies
・Usability testing
・Affinity mapping
・Affinity mapping
Goals
・Determine level of success of MVP
・Uncover any design errors or pain points
・Receive feedback for further iterations
・Uncover any design errors or pain points
・Receive feedback for further iterations
I was thrilled to have 31 total participants for my usability tests. I used Maze to create it and asked the users to complete 2 separate tasks and give feedback afterwards. The first task was to find Palmer Square Garden and message them and the second task was to find the Account Details page.
I had a lot of fun creating the MVP for Flourish. The highlight of the process was definitely the research phase. I learned so much about community gardening which helped me develop a better product. I also was amped with my usability testing. I was thrilled to have so many participants. I received a lot of positive feedback, but I also got a few ideas that can improve the overall user experience. After all, that's the whole point!
