Plantastic

Make plant care effortless.
Plantastic is a hi-fi Figma prototype for gardeners with limited digital experience. Group plants, see clear care advice, and with a connected sensor get personalized tips from real-time data.

Hi-Fi Figma Prototype

Project Overview

This course project involved creating a multiplayer music quiz web app connected to Spotify, designed to be played live with friends for a more engaging and social experience. We worked through the full design process, from ideation and prototyping to user testing and iteration, focusing on a clear and intuitive flow for hosting, joining, and playing quizzes. The app was built in React with a structured architecture. This kept the interface simple while still supporting real-time interaction and quiz logic. The project combined user-centered design with technical development.

Course

Tools

Time Frame

Media Technology and Interaction Design 7.5hp KTH

Aug 2024-Jan 2025 50% phase

Figma, Excel,

The process

Goals

Our goal in this interaction design course was to create an app that nurtures connection, whether to community, other people, or nature, while being welcoming to users with limited digital experience. We put much time on the design process and every decision was guided by the same question: does this reduce friction and help someone who’s less comfortable online feel confident, oriented, and in control?

Approach

Ideation

We chose the Double Diamond model because it gives us room to diverge and explore before we converge on a solution. This reduces the risk of “solution-first” thinking, creating clear decision gates, and keeping the team aligned.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with our target group, using prompts derived from the literature review. This format balanced predefined questions with flexibility which let participants explore what mattered most to them.

Interviews

We knew from the start that we wanted to foster a human–plant connection. To define who we were designing for, we alternated between broad reading (scanning across HCI, and gardening studies), narrowing insights, and then doing focused deep dives. A back-and-forth that helped us sharpen the audience and the problem. This process led us to focus on individuals aged 60+ who do indoor gardening as a hobby. The literature consistently links gardening to significant mental and physical health benefits for older adults, and also notes that many people 60+ have more time for hobbies as children move out and retirement approaches. Recognizing that this group can include users with varied levels of digital confidence (without assuming limited ability), we set early design principles around approachable interactions, clear language, and low-friction onboarding.

Literature review findings

Findings

Psychological benefits: Lower stress/anxiety, greater calm, satisfaction, improved mood and confidence.
Physical benefits: Light–moderate physical activity, valuable for older adults.
Social connection: Sharing tips/plants/experiences builds belonging and community.
Human–nature connection: Time with plants supports restoration and wellbeing.
Relevance for 60+: More time for hobbies (empty nest/retirement) makes indoor gardening a good fit.

Challenges & gaps

Home constraints: Limited light/space, humidity control, plant mortality discouraging for beginners.
Care complexity: Conflicting advice, hard to match plant needs to the home, remembering schedules (water/feed/repot).
Accessibility & UX: Small text/jargon, multi-step flows, varying digital confidence can hinder use of apps/devices.