Don't kill your plants

The role:

Senior Product Designer

The project:

Many plant lovers struggle to keep their plants alive, often forgetting when to water or fertilize them. I designed an Indoor Plant Care Dashboard to help users monitor their plants’ needs in one place, receive tailored care reminders, and ultimately enjoy thriving indoor greenery.

Discover:

  • Forgetfulness is the main reason plants die — especially regarding watering and fertilizing.

  • Many users feel overwhelmed by conflicting care advice online.

  • Users wanted a simple, visually appealing system rather than another generic to-do list app.

Define:

Based on research, I defined the core problem:

"How might we help plant owners keep track of individual plant needs in a way that feels approachable and encouraging?"

I created user personas, including:

  • The Busy Professional: loves plants but forgets to care for them due to a hectic schedule.

  • The Anxious Newbie: lacks confidence and is scared of "killing" plants.

From this, I identified key goals:

  • Make adding and managing plants intuitive and quick.

  • Provide clear, personalized care reminders.

  • Build confidence through simple, digestible guidance.

Outcome:

After usability testing with 6 plant owners of varying experience levels, we saw clear, measurable results:

  • 83% of testers reported feeling more confident about caring for their plants after using the dashboard for one week.

  • 100% successfully completed onboarding without external help, indicating the flow was intuitive and supportive.

  • Participants particularly loved the visual plant cards, mentioning they "felt like having a mini garden overview at a glance" and that this motivated them to engage more frequently.

  • All testers rated the personalized reminders as “very helpful,” and 5 out of 6 said they would adopt the app as part of their regular plant care routine.

  • One tester noted: "I finally stopped overwatering my succulents because I can clearly see when each one actually needs water."

Overall, the dashboard design significantly reduced user anxiety around plant care and encouraged consistent, personalized maintenance habits.

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