🌿 Bud — Gardening Community

for Adults 50+

Project Overview

Role: UX/UI Designer
Tools: Figma, [other tools you used]
Timeline: [e.g. 6 weeks, Summer 2024]

Bud is a community-oriented gardening app designed for adults aged 50 and above. The aim was to create a platform where users could share gardening tips, care for their plants, connect with others, and feel confident navigating plant care through familiar and accessible design.

Problem Statement

Many gardening enthusiasts over the age of 50 face barriers when using plant-care and community apps: small text, poor contrast, unfamiliar navigation patterns, and social isolation. Bud addresses these challenges by offering a design that is readable, intuitive, and built around connection and learning.

Process

Research & Insights

I began with qualitative user interviews and observations, focusing on older adults who gardened. Key findings included that many users preferred a feed-based format similar to Facebook, so they could post updates, see related content, comment and feel seen. Accessibility issues were frequent: low contrast icons or exit buttons caused confusion; navigation menus hidden by device hardware or gestures were sometimes missed.

Prototyping

I created prototypes for three form factors:

  • Mobile: This included onboarding (login/signup), personalised plant tracking, a feed to post photos/stories, events listing, and commenting functionality.

  • Desktop: Adapted navigation to a wider layout, allowed for easier event discovery, and made “My Plants” more prominent.

  • Smart Fridge: Simplified content browsing only — focused on passive consumption (viewing stories, browsing tips) for a glanceable experience.

[Placeholder: Mobile prototype screens]
[Placeholder: Desktop prototype screens]
[Placeholder: Smart fridge interface mockups]

Iterations & Solutions

Based on the feedback, I made several improvements:

  • Increased contrast of interactive icons (like hearts for “like,” save button), to help visibility.

  • Added a dedicated Save button in posts so users can quickly save content without confusion.

  • Included a preview of plant history before finalising a post.

  • Added a clear “X” or Close button in comment interfaces to make exiting easier from nested screens.

[Placeholder: Before/after design comparison visuals]

Outcomes & Reflections

Through this project, I successfully built a multi-platform prototype that demonstrates my ability to design for accessibility and older users. Testing revealed that even small interface elements (contrast, exit paths, icon clarity) make a big difference in usability for this audience.

What I learned:

  • Familiar patterns matter: borrowing from social media feeds helped users understand interaction expectations.

  • Accessibility isn’t just “nice to have” — contrast, button size, exit affordances significantly impact user satisfaction.

  • Prototyping across platforms (mobile, desktop, even non-traditional like smart home or fridge screens) helps uncover constraints you may not see if you only design for mobile or desktop.

Next Steps:

  • Conduct additional usability studies with a more diverse group (older ages, varying dexterity, vision) to validate assumptions and tweak as needed.

  • Explore voice or gesture support to improve accessibility further.

  • Develop community features (e.g. badges, mentorship, group challenges) to foster ongoing engagement.

Audience & Context

  1. User demographic: Adults 50+ who are interested in gardening, but may not be tech-savvy.

  2. Needs & constraints: Larger buttons and fonts; simple navigation; familiar UI patterns; clear visual hierarchy; minimal cognitive load.

  3. Context: Solo project (or specify team if relevant), personal portfolio work, intended to demonstrate accessible and user-centred design practices.

Ideation & Branding

I chose ‘Bud’ as a name to evoke both the growth of plants and budding friendships. The brand direction used refreshing greens combined with warm beige tones to convey vibrancy and approachability, while system fonts like San Francisco were selected for clarity and familiarity.

User Testing

I carried out usability testing with 5 users aged 50-65, asking them to perform tasks such as signing up, posting with plant history, commenting, and exploring events and their plant collection.

Findings:

  • On mobile, some users couldn’t see the navigation bar because of device overlays (e.g. hands or cases) and often missed the “exit comment” button.

  • On desktop, the “My Plants” and “Events” sections were less discoverable; users wanted quicker access.

  • Users asked for clearer icons for actions like “save” and “like,” and wanted previews of their plant history before posting.

Final Solution & Visuals

The final designs aim to balance simplicity, accessibility, and community engagement. Key screens are clean, with generous spacing, strong typography, consistent padding, and a familiar feed layout to reduce learning curve.

[Placeholder: Final mobile UI mockups]
[Placeholder: Final desktop UI screenshots]