Botani is a simple, intelligent, and community-driven app that helps plant owners build simplified and confident plant care routines.
(click here to go to the app prototype)
Problem statement: Beginner plant owners often care about their plants, but they struggle to understand what each plant needs at the right moment. Plant care advice is often too general, too technical, or discovered too late — usually after the plant already shows signs of stress.
Challenge: help beginner plant owners understand what to do next, build simple care routines, and feel more confident when something seems wrong with their plants.
Project overview
| Project type | Concept project |
| Focus | Research synthesis, user flow, UX writing, mobile UI |
| Tools | Figma, FigJam, ChatGPT |
| Timeline | 4 weeks (2025) |
DISCOVER
Research (qualitative & quantitative)
I used many questions and surveys for research phase to find out user pain points.
ChatGPT helped to cluster research notes into recurring themes. Then I manually reviewed the results, removed generic assumptions, and translated the strongest patterns into design implications.
Conclusion for Botani’s key features:
| Research insight | Design implication |
|---|---|
| Users often forget watering or care tasks | Make today’s care task visible on the home screen |
| Beginners are unsure what plant symptoms mean | Add a simple AI diagnosis tool with step-by-step guidance |
| Online advice feels overwhelming | Keep the community clean and simple, categorize to plants species |
| Users feel guilty when plants decline | Use calm, supportive, non-judgmental language |
| Different plants need different care routines | Create personalized plant profiles and reminders |
Competitive analysis
The competitive analysis focuses on two key players: Planta, one of the most popular plant care apps on the market, and ChatGPT, which offers a convenient experience by allowing users to upload a photo of their plant and receive instant diagnosis and care advice.
User persona
I developed two user personas representing different age groups and experience levels: Mia, a beginner plant owner, and Kai, a more advanced user. Despite their differences, both shared the same core goal: to care for their plants.
The empathy map centers around Mia, as the primary goal of the app is to attract beginner users and support them as they grow more confident and experienced. Mia is beginner plant owner who wants to take good care of her plants but does not always understand what the plant needs. She often searches online when leaves turn yellow or dry, but the information feels too broad and sometimes contradictory.
IDEATE
Information architecture
Flow exploration
I explored several alternative user journeys: reminder-first, plant-profile-first, and diagnosis-first.
| Flow option | Strength | Weakness | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reminder | Good for habit building | Less useful before user adds plants | Used for home screen |
| Diagnosis | Solves urgent problems | Can feel too advanced at first launch | Selected as main flow |
| Plant-profile | Creates personalization | Needs easy onboarding | Used as secondary action |
Wireframes/ Lo-fi
DESIGN
The app is intentionally structured to feel approachable, so anyone can use it without confusion or barriers. After logging in, users are taken directly to the Home screen, where their plant care journey begins.
The home screen was redesigned to prioritize “What should I do today?” instead of showing too much plant information at once. Both the Home and Garden screens feature a “+” button, allowing users to easily add a new plant at any time.
When adding a plant, users can either choose from the app’s built-in plant library or upload/take a photo to let the AI system identify the plant automatically. Each plant profile gives simple care guidance based on the plant’s needs.
Scan feature allows users to identify their plant, assess its health, and detect any signs of pests or diseases. The diagnosis flow avoids overwhelming users with long explanations and instead gives possible causes and simple next actions.
Community feature allows users to post questions or share updates with photos, while other users can easily interact through likes, comments, and support.
Finally, users can customize their display preferences and account information, as well as access details about the Botani app itself.
Conclusion
Botani helped me understand that a stronger UX case study is not about adding more features or more screens. It is about making the problem clearer and connecting research to design decisions. The most important part of the process was filtering suggestions, deciding what was relevant, and refining the final experience manually.