PROJECT VISION
Plant Vision is an online floral delivery application that allows users to select pre-made arrangements or create their own custom arrangements. For this project, I chose to use Adobe XD to complete the workload as I wanted to better familiarize myself with the technology. In addition to this, I decided on a design method that would initially render desktop versions first followed by responsive web design including both phones and tablets. This design method also utilized the use of persona creation, goals, and user research. This was followed by usability studies and iterating on designs with the help of user feedback.
THE PROBLEM
Users want a hassle free way to create and order arrangements for delivery.
THE GOAL
Design an application that allows users to easily and efficiently order flower arrangements. Additionally, in order to set us apart from other online floral businesses, we want to incorporate a “build your own” feature into our platform. We hope to gain valuable insight into what our users want to see in a new application through the use of extensive user research.
RESEARCH
The process of user research began with the use of in-person interviews. Through these interviews I was able to determine our primary user group as well as the pain points associated with similar products out there. For this application, I determined that our primary user group is young, working professionals that often live away from extended family. This group often doesn’t have the time nor proximity to personally deliver flowers to their friends and loved ones. My initial assumption of this identified user group was correct and will make up the primary bulk of our application’s users. Other pain points that were discovered included: limited floral variety on similar websites, costly shipping fees, and lack of customization options in terms the arrangements themselves.
USER PAIN POINTS
(1) Time & Proximity
Busy, working professionals have little time outside of work obligations. This makes mobile app ordering essential to their daily lives.
(2) Variety
Similar florist apps are limited in the variety of flowers and arrangements they offer on their respective websites.
(3) Shipping
Shipping costs on similar websites are pricey and vary depending on where you are located. Furthermore, the shipping price is often hidden until checkout.
(4) Customization
Florist apps almost never allow for user customization of arrangements. They are most often met with preset floral arrangement options only.
KEY QUESTIONS
MEET THE USERS
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I analyzed many competing flower delivery companies in order to better understand how our product would compare in the online market. Although our product is small in comparison to these other companies, I feel that we positioned ourselves to stand out with the incorporation of the “build your own” function. This lack of functionality on other websites allows us to take advantage of this gap in the market and will hopefully increase profits and user base. Other opportunities that were identified through the competitive analysis include:
- Integrating fair and clear shipping charges (no hidden shipping fees)
- Integrate our app with voice assistive technology, screen readers, and multiple language options
- Offer a wide array of flower options with a focus on uniqueness. Most comparable websites offer the same narrow scope of flower varieties.
- Create a straightforward process for ordering and tracking
PREPARING THE JOURNEY
Creating multiple versions of the home screen ensured that the final product would incorporate the best elements and placement. This ensures the best user experience while also taking into account user pain points. Stars were used to highlight elements I wanted to use in the digital wireframe process.
LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
The user flow demonstrates the steps one takes to select arrangements and complete the ordering process. A second user flow follows the path of selecting flowers for a users' own bouquet creation and the ordering process that follows.
View the Plant Vision low-fidelity prototype
USABILITY STUDY: FINDINGS
I conducted two rounds of usability studies for this app design. These studies helped me determine pain points for users while completing tasks in this application. The first round helped to refine wireframes and initial mockups while the second round gave me insights on further improvements that were needed in the high-fidelity prototype.
KEY MOCKUPS
HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
The final high-fidelity prototype produced a cleaner design and better user flow overall. It met the users’ needs by incorporating a confirmation page during the checkout process and allowing for gift message functionality.
View the Plant Vision high-fidelity prototype
TAKEAWAYS
The creation of this application allowed me to further practice my skills in user research and design interation. It also allowed me to learn a new technology (Adobe XD) and really gain a better understanding of multiple UX design platforms. During this process I used both Adobe XD and Figma to create this project and further practiced my mockup skills in figma plugins to allow for a more interactive and visually appealing case study.
IMPACT
This design project allows the user to order pre-made arrangements or create their own and have them delivered to loved ones. It takes into account the simple act of gift giving and allows for loved ones to feel connected to one another through this gift giving, despite geographical proximity. The project also provides a unique experience not seen in other similar applications, the ability to build your own creation.
