Designing for Gardeners: A Product Shaped by Real User Testing

Let’s check out my product, which aims to help gardeners make their own liquid fertilizer at home.

Wonder why I'm showing my product at the beginning of the story?

Here’s the reason why, Most of the case studies start with a same/similar plot like Understanding-Defining-Ideating, and in the end they show their product. But for me it’s different, I want to share my journey as a story and as an experience, which I personally think that the reader empathetically connects with me and my journey.

This product mainly consists of 3 different parts, which are

A liquid-storing bucket with 2 handles.
A Lid with a handle and a button.
A Disposable filter paper bag.

Fig. 2 will explain how the lid mechanism works to boost the user’s experience with the product, as they will not touch the waste-filled bag with their hands.

Fig. 3, The filter paper bag acts as a tea bag, which lets the waste mix with the water when put inside the bucket.

Fig. 4 will explain how the whole process of making a liquid fertilizer is done.

This kit has features that will help users in various ways :

Volume markings printed on the bucket to measure the liquid volume.
The bucket has two handles on either side for a better grip when pouring.
Users could easily store the biodegradable wastes in the bag as they are designed in a way to fit all types of dustbins.
Setting up the fermentation kit is as easy as pie.
An odour-absorbing layer reduces bad smells.
Users can dispose of the bag without touching it, thanks to the holding mechanism under the lid.

Users can store their kitchen waste in multiple bags simultaneously, as we provide a bundle of disposable bags that are available for purchase.

Let us look at the core problem because of which I designed a homemade liquid fertilizer kit.

Users being unable to make their own organic fertilizer at home is the Core problem I observed during my user interviews.

I observed gardeners being able to make their fertilizers in plastic buckets and mugs but faced issues with the bad smell, flies and touching the waste with their hands during the process of fermentation; this has made me think like a designer to improve the experience of making homemade fertilizer.

During the interview, I observed that most of the gardening enthusiasts prefer homemade organic fertilizer for their plants.
They are unable to invest their time in making their own fertilizers as they have to put in a lot of effort for the whole process.

In Fig. 5, I’ve shown the user’s journey and the problems they faced in detail.

How I Transitioned from Understanding Garden Troubles to Designing a Homemade Fertilizer Kit.

From understanding the user’s perspective to designing a product based on the information they provide has been an interesting journey for me.

Empathy plays a key role from the stage of understanding users’ pain points to providing users with a good, useful product.

These are the phases I went through on this journey of becoming a good designer.

As a Designer, first I did my research on the garden area to understand the target users.
I prepared my questions for the gardeners, making them sound like a casual conversation instead of a formal Q&A.
I took insights out from the information users provided, during the interview.

I defined my insights to find out the root problem that is causing a bad experience in the garden.
Found there were multiple problems that users were facing in their garden, and I took each problem statement out and tried to define ‘why that problem is important to the user’.

After a few brainstorming sessions, I realised that prioritising this statement, “users being unable to make their own fertilizer at home”, is an ideal problem to solve, as the majority of people had issues with it.
I started to ideate on the problem statement, which led me to think of many ideas like Fertilizer Pods, Smart Fertilizer Dispenser, Fertilizer Sprayer, Fertilizer Subscription Box, Home-made Liquid fertilizer kit and many more
But Many garden lovers preferred natural home-made fertilizers for their plants. Even though they could make it in a bucket or a mug, they have faced multiple issues during the preparation process, so this sowed a seed in my mind to make a perfect product for them.
I have checked multiple products and analyzed that there is no compact product for making liquid fertilizer at home.

Story of how I had to make a few decisions to design a useful product.

How I took a critical step to understand my users better.

I found that my questions were too direct and were not getting the users to open up, so I reframed my questions in a more conversational way to better empathize with the users.

How I took a critical step to define my problem statement.

I analyzed all the problems that I've listed from the insights, and I defined every problem by saying, ‘why the problem is important to the user’
After choosing the problem statement for which I was trying to make a product, I aimed not only to solve one issue but also to enhance the whole experience.

How I took a critical step to create ideas to build a product for the problem.

I had to perform a sprint method called Crazy 8s to bring out ideas for the product, & came up with ideas like Fertilizer Pods, Smart Fertilizer Dispenser, Fertilizer Sprayer, Fertilizer Subscription Box, Home-made Liquid fertilizer kit and many more
But eventually I realized that providing them with a kit will be more helpful to make their own fertilizer at home, as it is a known cognitive effect called the “IKEA effect”, which states that people tend to value an object more if they make it themselves.

How I took a critical step while prototyping my product.

I had to iterate my prototype multiple times (I will share the reason in the next phase)
You can see the first 2 iterations I did before the testing phase in Fig. 11

Later, after a few tests, I realized these 2 ideas were not that feasible with the users, so I iterated on them again.

I made this prototype (Fig. 12) more convenient and feasible for users by making it easier to use, access, and understand.

How I took a critical step while testing my prototype.

During my testing phase, I received multiple pieces of feedback and suggestions from my peers, which led me to change a few features in my prototype, as they were valid problems a user might face.

With more research and brainstorming, I’ve done few changes with the design which are mentioned below.

I refined my prototype three times before settling on a final design.

Here, in Fig. 13, I have shown what problems users faced, what changes I made, and the reason behind the changes.

How would I proceed with this project if I had more time?

I kept this idea as simple and effective as possible, considering affordability, accessibility and usability.
If I had 2 more weeks, I would definitely take advantage of the technology we have right now and make the product more technical to perform more tasks easily; the tasks could be automatic disposal of the waste, a timer for fermentation, a sound alert when it’s time to dispose, self-cleaning, etc.

Keeping in mind future use cases, I would add features to my product like a watering can, which will help with pouring the fertilizer directly to the plants and a solid manure mixing mechanism, which will help make solid manure for soil inside the bucket itself, which can be used directly from the bucket.

Let’s discover what I’ve learned through out this journey, which I can add to my bag of skills.

During this project, I’ve gained the skill to empathize with users, which helped me a lot to create something which they need; for instance, I have understood users’ needs, which led me to change my product multiple times.
I have learned how to ask questions that will help me gain insights from users, Also I’ve got to know how to evaluate those insights and decide which ones are most important.
I have learned how to select the right problem-solving methodology for the specific problem at hand.
All these skills will help me to become a good designer, from understanding my users to providing them with an effective product.