Terrapik

Terrapik

Mobile App

Co-Project Manager

UX Designer

UX Researcher

Terrapik

Homegrown made easy—wherever you live.

A conceptual project for the future of urban gardening.

View more working details

Project Type

Mobile app

Duration

10 weeks, Spring 2019

Tools

Figma, Google Suite

Team

2 UX Designers, 2 Industrial Designers, 1 Visual Designer

Design Digest

As part of a design studio course, our team was challenged to create a service experience that leveraged autonomous technology. We chose to explore the intersection of smart systems and sustainable living—specifically, how we might support young, urban gardeners with limited time, space, or seasonal access.

Terrapik is a conceptual autonomous gardening solution that brings fresh, home-grown produce to your doorstep—any time of year, no matter where you live. With intelligent planters, AI guidance, and an app-based inventory system, Terrapik makes growing your own food accessible, effortless, and empowering.

Introducing Terrapik

From cityscape to greenscape, no green thumb required.

Local food production is growing; there are opportunities to learn, turn a profit, and grow your own fresh produce. With our home gardening solutions we can make growing plants easier, allowing for any plant to be right at your fingertips. Through our planters and digital partner you can watch your plants grow all by themselves. Terrapik provides fresh, off the vine produce and plants to everyone regardless of time, season and location.

From cityscape to greenscape, no green thumb required.

Click to view the vision video

Discover

We began by researching urban gardening habits, barriers, and aspirations. Through surveys and interviews with beginner and experienced plant-keepers, we uncovered common frustrations: lack of time, knowledge, seasonal constraints, and limited space. We also explored trends in smart agriculture, autonomous delivery, and sustainable living. These insights shaped our design direction and helped us define a clear user need.

Problem Statement

The modern food supply chain is not perfect. Each year, 60 million tons of fresh produce is wasted. To make matters worse, The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults consume 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit per day, and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day but only 12.2% of American adults are meeting the standard for fruit and a mere 9.3% are meeting the standard for vegetables.

Problem Statement

The Opportunity

Local food production is growing, and there are opportunities to learn, save money, and grow your own fresh produce all while increasing your fruit and veggie intake.

The Opportunity

Local food production is growing, and there are opportunities to learn, save money, and grow your own fresh produce all while increasing your fruit and veggie intake.

The Opportunity

Local food production is growing, and there are opportunities to learn, save money, and grow your own fresh produce all while increasing your fruit and veggie intake.

Define

Our primary user: young, tech-savvy individuals living in urban environments who are interested in sustainability but struggle with the consistency and upkeep of traditional gardening.

Our challenge: How might we design an autonomous gardening service that fits seamlessly into busy city lifestyles—making home-grown produce simple, smart, and satisfying?

We developed user personas, mapped key touchpoints, and established goals focused on ease, accessibility, and delight.

Research

We had the opportunity to do some primary and secondary research to understand the opportunity space around shopping local at small businesses.

Secondary Research

Research revealed these key insights and user needs:

Secondary Research

Research revealed these key insights and user needs:

Secondary Research

Research revealed these key insights and user needs:

Sense of Pride

Urban farming is rewarding. For many people, growing a plant from its infancy to create something tangible fills them with a sense of pride.

Sense of Pride

Urban farming is rewarding. For many people, growing a plant from its infancy to create something tangible fills them with a sense of pride.

Sense of Pride

Urban farming is rewarding. For many people, growing a plant from its infancy to create something tangible fills them with a sense of pride.

Better Quality Food

The food you grow yourself is unique. It’s fresher than anything you can buy at the grocery store and because of this it tastes better. You’re also less likely to throw it away.

Better Quality Food

The food you grow yourself is unique. It’s fresher than anything you can buy at the grocery store and because of this it tastes better. You’re also less likely to throw it away.

Better Quality Food

The food you grow yourself is unique. It’s fresher than anything you can buy at the grocery store and because of this it tastes better. You’re also less likely to throw it away.

Education

Keeping a garden is complex, there is a lot that goes into making one successful. It’s uniquely capable of teaching people about both the ecology of their area and the climate as a whole.

Education

Keeping a garden is complex, there is a lot that goes into making one successful. It’s uniquely capable of teaching people about both the ecology of their area and the climate as a whole.

Education

Keeping a garden is complex, there is a lot that goes into making one successful. It’s uniquely capable of teaching people about both the ecology of their area and the climate as a whole.

Improved Health

While it can be expensive to eat healthy, growing your own fruits and vegetables can help encourage people to eat healthier. Research suggests that people eat more fruits and vegetables if they are homegrown.

Improved Health

Competitor Analysis

We then took a look at some competitors to see if anyone in the market was already solving these issues.

Competitor Analysis

We then took a look at some competitors to see if anyone in the market was already solving these issues.

Competitor Analysis

We then took a look at some competitors to see if anyone in the market was already solving these issues.

Competitor: Click and Grow

Grow plants with zero effort right on your counter top

Competitor: Click and Grow

Grow plants with zero effort right on your counter top

Competitor: Click and Grow

Grow plants with zero effort right on your counter top

Physical product

What works:

• Digital Partner allowing for customization within the plants.

• Free application

What doesn’t work:

• Large planters that take up a lot of space

• Not many plants can be placed without buying another device

• Planters are $200 + you buy the plants

Mobile app

What works:

• Digital Partner allowing for customization within the plants.

• Customer support

• Free application

What doesn’t work:

• Confusing flow and navigation

• Very minimal, little visuals which causes confusion on what the service is

Competitor: Hungry Harvest

We believe no produce should go to waste & no person should go hungry

Competitor: Hungry Harvest

We believe no produce should go to waste & no person should go hungry

Competitor: Hungry Harvest

We believe no produce should go to waste & no person should go hungry

Subscription Service

What works:

• Good pricing

• AI system to help answer questions and concerns about the system

• Many choses in the subscriptions

What doesn’t work:

• Not a lot of locations to use the service

Primary Interviews & Site Visits

We had the opportunity to observe and speak with our target audiences to gain better understanding.

Primary Interviews & Site Visits

We had the opportunity to observe and speak with our target audiences to gain better understanding.

Primary Interviews & Site Visits

We had the opportunity to observe and speak with our target audiences to gain better understanding.

User Observation

We completed site visits to farmers markets and local grocery stores in several cities and states. 18 site visits including:

User Observation

We completed site visits to farmers markets and local grocery stores in several cities and states. 18 site visits including:

User Observation

We completed site visits to farmers markets and local grocery stores in several cities and states. 18 site visits including:

Brighter Day

Savannah Farmers Market
Whole Foods
Kroger in Savannah
Kroger Marketplace in Ohio
Lucky’s Market
Walmart (2)
Target (3)
Jungle Jim’s
Food Lion
Dollar Store
Publix in Savannah
Publix in Atlanta
Fresh Market

Observing the current product buying experience

We want to help increase engagement, educate, and reduce a carbon footprint. We focused on observing what fresh produce is being bought and how shoppers currently buy fresh produce.

Observing the current product buying experience

We want to help increase engagement, educate, and reduce a carbon footprint. We focused on observing what fresh produce is being bought and how shoppers currently buy fresh produce.

Observing the current product buying experience

We want to help increase engagement, educate, and reduce a carbon footprint. We focused on observing what fresh produce is being bought and how shoppers currently buy fresh produce.

We looked for:

People interacting with the produce
People avoiding the produce
Observations about the produce section in general

Surveys

We contacted a wide range of people, mainly females aged 46-50 and had 52 survey responses. We used both: 1) Qualitative and Quantitative, and 2) Structured, set responses with a few open ended questions to understand general patterns

Surveys

User Interviews

1) Open-Ended, Ethnographic, 2) Unstructured to understand cultures and behaviors, and 3) Semi-Structured to understand the areas around a topic of interest

User Interviews

1) Open-Ended, Ethnographic, 2) Unstructured to understand cultures and behaviors, and 3) Semi-Structured to understand the areas around a topic of interest

User Interviews

1) Open-Ended, Ethnographic, 2) Unstructured to understand cultures and behaviors, and 3) Semi-Structured to understand the areas around a topic of interest

What are young professionals saying about their gardening experience?

Primary Research Insights

What we found from our site visits, surveys, and user interviews.

Primary Research Insights

What we found from our site visits, surveys, and user interviews.

Primary Research Insights

What we found from our site visits, surveys, and user interviews.

Most people would like to have a home garden but are not able to because of space and time requirements.
People feel like they would be more inclined to eat more produce if they gardened it themselves
People who are aware of their food waste feel guilty about it.
People are concerned about their health but spend very little money on produce in their grocery budgets.
People are more interested in convenience than fresh produce.
There is a strong interest in getting started with and learning more about home gardening.

Affinitization & Opportunities

Our research resulted in 105 data points which we distilled down into 18 insights and 15 "how might we" prompts.

Affinitization & Opportunities

Our research resulted in 105 data points which we distilled down into 18 insights and 15 "how might we" prompts.

Affinitization & Opportunities

Our research resulted in 105 data points which we distilled down into 18 insights and 15 "how might we" prompts.

Key Insights

How Might We...?

Research Implementation

Target Audience

We defined our audience to understand our user needs.

Target Audience

We defined our audience to understand our user needs.

Target Audience

We defined our audience to understand our user needs.

Personas

We took our research and created some personas so we could later test our concepts.

Personas

We took our research and created some personas so we could later test our concepts.

Personas

We took our research and created some personas so we could later test our concepts.

User Journey Maps

We then took a look at some possible user journey maps for our primary user, Ashely.

User Journey Maps

We then took a look at some possible user journey maps for our primary user, Ashely.

User Journey Maps

We then took a look at some possible user journey maps for our primary user, Ashely.

Want to learn more?

Full process details are included in the book.

Open process book

Design

With a service-first mindset, we designed the Terrapik ecosystem across physical, digital, and conversational touchpoints. I helped conceptualize the mobile experience, which includes:

QR-based onboarding to connect new planters
A dynamic inventory dashboard
Real-time status updates from the AI garden assistant, Terra

We explored interactions through low- to mid-fidelity wireframes, user-tested key flows, and iterated on system mapping to ensure every element of the experience felt cohesive and intuitive.

Ideation

With this deep understanding of the research and market, we began our ideation phase seeking to produce a wholistic solution.

Ideation

With this deep understanding of the research and market, we began our ideation phase seeking to produce a wholistic solution.

Ideation

With this deep understanding of the research and market, we began our ideation phase seeking to produce a wholistic solution.

How might we help our users have time for home gardening & assist them with accessibility to produce and freshness?

We started with addressing problems and unmet needs from the How Might We?s into this key question.

How might we help our users have time for home gardening & assist them with accessibility to produce and freshness?

We started with addressing problems and unmet needs from the How Might We?s into this key question.

How might we help our users have time for home gardening & assist them with accessibility to produce and freshness?

We started with addressing problems and unmet needs from the How Might We?s into this key question.

Define Product Goals

We further outlined our product's goal and vision.

Define Product Goals

We further outlined our product's goal and vision.

Define Product Goals

We further outlined our product's goal and vision.

1. Increase the number of people becoming engaged in sustainable produce and farming.

2. Educate more people about the climate, gardening, sustainability and produce production.

3. Reduce an urban area’s carbon footprint and food waste.

Initial Concepts

We explored several solutions before commiting on a direction. Here are some of those concepts:

Initial Concepts

We explored several solutions before commiting on a direction. Here are some of those concepts:

Initial Concepts

We explored several solutions before commiting on a direction. Here are some of those concepts:

Product Development

We then dove into the design of our product.

Product Development

We then dove into the design of our product.

Product Development

We then dove into the design of our product.

Home product drafting:

Delivery truck drafting:

UI Development & Testing

We then took a look at the UI design and prepared for initial user testing. We user tested through each ideation; low, mid and high fidelity. With a realized high-fi design, we re-engaged our target audience to user test.

UI Development & Testing

Low fi:

Mid fi:

User Testing Results

Overall, throughout the design process, we tested with more than 60 users.

User Testing Results

Overall, throughout the design process, we tested with more than 60 users.

User Testing Results

Overall, throughout the design process, we tested with more than 60 users.

We used the following Confirmatory Research Design Methodologies:

A/B User Testing
Behavioral Observations: Quantitative
Usability Studies and Rating
Expert Review

Findings

Overwhelmingly, our users felt that our app was different and unique and that people wanted to use it!

Findings

Overwhelmingly, our users felt that our app was different and unique and that people wanted to use it!

Findings

Overwhelmingly, our users felt that our app was different and unique and that people wanted to use it!

Our users felt that our concept was:

Unique
Different yet practical
Fun and engaging
Personalized

Deliver

Our final concept features three core elements:

Autonomous delivery of modular smart planters
App-based garden management via QR code scanning and status tracking
Conversational AI assistant, Terra, offering guidance, reminders, and encouragement

We built a high-fidelity prototype and service blueprint to demonstrate how Terrapik’s physical and digital components work together—from doorstep to dinner table.

The Truck

Our autonomous trucks are loaded with planters so you can pick your own produce right off the vine.

The Truck

Our autonomous trucks are loaded with planters so you can pick your own produce right off the vine.

The Truck

Our autonomous trucks are loaded with planters so you can pick your own produce right off the vine.

Entering the Truck

No need to pull out your wallet to pay, just tap your phone to the door and walk in, we know what you've bought and will charge your account.

Entering the Truck

No need to pull out your wallet to pay, just tap your phone to the door and walk in, we know what you've bought and will charge your account.

Entering the Truck

No need to pull out your wallet to pay, just tap your phone to the door and walk in, we know what you've bought and will charge your account.

Inside the Truck

1) Pegboard walls along the back allow you to grab new plants for your home garden, or put old plants back, hassle free. 2) Growing lights in the roof and a water tank in the base, make our trucks self sustaining greenhouses so always thrive.

Inside the Truck

The Home Product Planter

Our modular planters together vertically allowing you to grow lots of plants in minimal space.

The Home Product Planter

Our modular planters together vertically allowing you to grow lots of plants in minimal space.

The Home Product Planter

Our modular planters together vertically allowing you to grow lots of plants in minimal space.

Growing Plants

Using soil moisture and temperature sensors, and autonomous lights, each plant gets customized care.

Growing Plants

Using soil moisture and temperature sensors, and autonomous lights, each plant gets customized care.

Growing Plants

Using soil moisture and temperature sensors, and autonomous lights, each plant gets customized care.

Fit Your Needs

Our planters come in various sizes so whether you want a little basil or a lot of tomatoes, we've got the size you need.

Fit Your Needs

Our planters come in various sizes so whether you want a little basil or a lot of tomatoes, we've got the size you need.

Fit Your Needs

Our planters come in various sizes so whether you want a little basil or a lot of tomatoes, we've got the size you need.

Add to the App

By scanning a QR code on the back, you can track your plants progress and get real time info on the health and life of your plant.

Add to the App

By scanning a QR code on the back, you can track your plants progress and get real time info on the health and life of your plant.

Add to the App

By scanning a QR code on the back, you can track your plants progress and get real time info on the health and life of your plant.

The Mobile App

Designed to seamlessly integrate with users' busy lifestyles, the Terrapik mobile app serves as the central hub for managing your garden—no matter where you are. With real-time updates, personalized reminders, and an intuitive inventory system, the app makes it easy to track planter health, harvest cycles, and overall progress. Whether scanning a new planter’s QR code or checking in on growth status, users stay connected to their plants through a clean, conversational interface designed for accessibility and ease.

The Mobile App

The AI Bot, Terra, Your Gardening Companion

Terrapik’s experience is powered by Terra, an intelligent, conversational AI assistant designed to guide users through every step of their gardening journey. From planting tips to personalized care alerts, Terra brings a friendly, approachable presence to the experience—transforming gardening from a task into a conversation. Terra not only boosts confidence for first-time growers but also creates a sense of companionship, encouraging consistent engagement and making every plant feel a little more personal.

The AI Bot, Terra, Your Gardening Companion

Brand & Identity Development

Brand pillars

Logo & brand development

Final Brand

Debrief

Terrapik was an exploration of how autonomous systems can be applied to everyday sustainability. It taught us how to design not just a product, but an entire ecosystem—balancing technical innovation with user-friendly interactions. This project deepened my understanding of service design, AI integration, and the importance of emotional connection in emerging tech.