plantanimo
Context
MSc Major Project
Team Size
2
Role
UX/UI Designer & Researcher
Tools
Figma, Illustrator, Ionic/React
Work in progress
Plantanimo is a plant care app I'm building with a university partner for our MSc final major project, due this November. We're both contributing to development, but my main focus is UI, UX, and research. The project is still in progress, so for now this case study covers the research phase. I wanted to share it early to document my thinking, and I will keep updating it as the project develops.
The Problem
Plant care apps already exist, but we found that reminders are not enough to keep users engaged and responsible enough to actually keep their plants alive. To find out whether it was a wider pattern, we surveyed 22 people about their plant care habits. All of them had lost a plant from forgetting to water it, 50% abandon routine apps because they start feeling like a chore, and 86% would stick longer with an interactive, gamified plant app.
Research & Insights
competitor analysis
We looked at three competitors in the plant care app space. All of them help with the basics of plant care, but none of them make it engaging.
greg
Community-driven app with personalised watering schedules and weather integration. Strong on accuracy, but there's no emotional hook and no reason to open it once a task is done.
planta
The most polished UI in the category, covering scheduling, light metering, and a diagnosis tool. Almost everything useful is behind a paywall, and there's no engagement mechanic of any kind.
PICTURETHIS
The go-to for plant identification, with a large database and a strong diagnosis feature. Built entirely around a single utility. Once you know what your plant is, there's no reason to come back.
Looking Beyond Competitors
To figure out how to make Plantanimo engaging, we looked at products from completely different spaces that had already solved the specific problems we were facing.
DUOLINGO
Duolingo's streak mechanic works because of the emotional weight attached to it. Duo the owl changes expression based on your behaviour. Duolingo also has a rich achievements system with badges earned for hitting milestones and completing challenges.
Spotify Wrapped
Spotify transforms listening data into a beautifully designed, highly personal summary that users can share on social media. This feature created a cultural moment around music and identity.
AHEAD
Ahead is an emotional intelligence app that frames self-improvement as a journey with a companion character called Kai. The core insight is that giving everyday tasks a face makes them feel more engaging and easier to complete.
Personas
I identified two user types based on their plant care habits from a survey of 22 participants.
THE PLANT PARENT
Maya, 30, already names her plants and talks to them. For her, existing plant care apps feel cold and impersonal. She's also very active on social media, so she values content that's worth sharing online.
THE ACCIDENTAL KILLER
Ivana, 25, keeps buying plants because she likes the aesthetic, but she keeps killing them. She's convinced it's because of her ADHD, so she needs an app that's more engaging. She doesn't want to become a plant expert, she just wants an app that helps her feel accountable without adding stress.
Turning research into design
Research pointed to three design decisions: giving each plant a personality so reminders feel personal, building a gamification layer that rewards consistent care, and creating a shareable identity moment that makes the habit worth showing off.
Personality & Emotion
Each plant gets its own species-specific personality and speaks in first-person. When a reminder sounds like it's coming from the plant itself, it feels less like a generic notification.
Streaks & achievements
Water on time enough days in a row and you build a streak. Help a sick plant recover and you unlock an achievement. The more consistent you are, the better your "plant parent" title gets. Something like going from "Plant Rookie" to "Garden Guru".
Shareable Content
The app creates a shareable card with your stats, like how many plants you have, your longest streak, and the ridiculous titles you've earned, so you can show off your plant-parenting skills online.
What's Next
Sketches, site map, wireframes, low-fidelity prototype, user testing, revisions, full UI design, plant avatars, copy, high-fidelity prototype, user testing, revisions, coding.
I'll keep updating this case study as the project evolves :)