# Reminders plants can live with

> A plant-care app whose reminders adapt to the season, so people stop drowning their plants in winter.

[Work](https://portfolio.vagejs.com/work/)

A plant-care reminder app that waters less in winter, because the plants do too.

Role

Design lead, two-person team

Year

2023

Length

3 months

## The problem

The app sent a watering reminder every few days, all year. In winter, people followed the reminders faithfully and overwatered their plants. Reviews said the app "killed my fern".

## What we tried

We added a season setting. Almost nobody changed it. So the app now adjusts on its own, based on the time of year where the person lives, and says so in plain words: "Watering less often: it's winter."

## What shipped

-   **Seasonal schedules** that change by themselves, with a note explaining why.
-   **A one-tap "it was still damp" answer** that pushes the next reminder back.
-   **A quieter app.** Fewer notifications overall, and the ones that remain are worth reading.

## What I'd keep

Explaining the app's decisions in one short sentence. People trusted the reminders once they understood them.

More work

-   [Tram tickets in two taps](https://portfolio.vagejs.com/work/tram-tickets/)
-   [A budget for shared homes](https://portfolio.vagejs.com/work/shared-budget/)