PLANTER
BACKGROUND
During the Covid era, the popularity of gardening in New Zealand surged. Genia's Marketing team created a printable plant calendar that advises Kiwis on optimal planting times based on their climate zone. Recognizing the potential for a captivating and interactive user experience, we conceived Planter, Genia's inaugural consumer app.
In my role as Project Lead, I collaborated closely with the Marketing team, a designer based in Auckland, and my fellow developers. We wireframed and implemented the app, iterating through multiple rounds of UX testing to refine it into its current form. Planter serves a dual purpose: boosting Genia's social metrics and driving sales for their gardening division, Get Growing.
HOW IT WORKS
Users begin by selecting their region in New Zealand, which then prompts the app to display a curated list of viable plants for the current month. By tapping on a plant, users can access detailed information about it and add it to their cart. Each plant recommendation aligns with the optimal climate zone for the selected region and month. For instance, if a user is in Wellington, New Zealand, categorized under a Temperate climate zone, and the month is May, the app suggests plants such as Bok Choy, Carrot, and Chives.
Upon agreeing to sign up for marketing emails from Genia, users receive a personalized calendar through an Azure Function, Mailchimp, and SendGrid integration. This calendar (seen below) provides guidance on when to sow or pot seeds and when to harvest all the selected plants. Leveraging our proprietary React-to-PDF templating tool, we've crafted the calendar to ensure its effectiveness and user-friendliness.
