Thinking back to when I did my business strategy earlier on in this module, I spoke to Richard in a tutorial where he helped me decide on price strategies. There was some useful advice for then and it could apply to now – when thinking of concepts think of three:
• On brief of the idea
• Challenge the idea
• Forget the brief exists and go wild
I’m going to use this approach for my three ideas.
Idea 1: the portable (on brief)
Grow-zone: an app
Apps that I could take bits of inspiration from:
- Strava – this monitors your progress through the fitness tracker in your mobile device, and GPS location. If you are a member you can set yourself daily targets when running/walking/cycling. This already springs a few ideas into my mind about potentially being able to track members and reward them for their activity i.e. how long they spend on their individual plot and if they hit their weekly target.
- homefarm – this app is like instagram for gardeners – not as tech savvy as instagram, but it’s basically a gardeners diary (I actually discovered the app through typing in garden diary in app store). It’s a great little photo upload app that encourages a community of people. You log-in and see the weather forecast for 5 days. You are able to add what variety of fruit, vegetables or herbs you are growing and it will inform you when they are ready to harvest. I’ve had it for 2 years and it’s really exciting to see what everyone is growing in their gardens/allotments. Great way to see what was successful to grow/eat and what wasn’t – as it’s easy to lose track.
- iNaturalist – This app has been great (initially recommended by my dad who loves it too). You are able to take a picture of any flower/plant/insect and it will identify the species. I have recently noticed I get notifications when someone has found the same species as me using my photo. This is interesting as every photo every person uploads obviously goes into a giant library of data that is used to detect future uploads. Clever.
- Pinterest – an inspirational photo based platform for ideas.
My idea would involve the user downloading the app and logging in – and selecting their type of “grow zone” for planting i.e. indoors/outdoors. The app would then use GPS, detecting the location of users current temperature/weather – this could then recommend season specific plants for the location (this could be fruit/veg/herbs/flowers/trees). There’s a collective user platform where images could be shared for inspiration to other users, advice, and even charts/timelines for seasons. If you visit somewhere and like the plant but don’t know what it is – the app could identify new species. This doesn’t have to be exterior – it could be an indoor space like a greenhouse or studio (users could even create a “living wall”!) so it can be for anybody.
The overall idea: user will be able to plan and purchase suitable plants in a physical space that detects your location through GPS, whilst having a portable community to connect with fellow users.
Idea 2: the sustainable (challenge the idea)
Stores inspiring this:
- Baileys stores – I visited here recently with family back in Wales, and this place is the king of up-cycling. There was very rustic looking furniture, particularly the outdoor furniture which was all rusted adding to the aged appeal. They offer completely recycled home furnishings such as metal, glass, and wood. They also sell indoor plants too. It’s a very environmentally conscious store.
Grow-zone: an online community
An online community that consists of a large shop selling variations of everything needed to grow plants – plants/tools/supplies. Think of the local farm shop but online. This instantly makes it more accessible for everyone if the site can deliver. To set it apart from other ‘gardeners websites’ – I’m thinking of:
• An interactive website that will guide the user i.e. if you are looking to donate wood the site will direct you through the process, and if you are a member the site will direct you to the shop.
• A trade system where unwanted vegetables/plants/trees could be traded in exchange for plants you want. For example, I now have 7 bags of blackberries in the freezer and yellow courgettes have taken over my diet:
It would be great if I could exchange those for some strawberries or fruit/veg I haven’t got.
The overall idea: an online community where items can be recycled, reused or traded to benefit both the donator and the trader.
Idea 3: the alternate world (the brief doesn’t exist)
Games inspiring this:
• Animal crossing new horizons – having purchased this game for the first time in lockdown I have gradually created my own virtual island. I am able to craft tools using the island’s natural resources to enable me to fish, do gardening, catch insects and sell items I’ve made. The game is extremely therapeutic and I have honestly never played something that relaxes me so much – this could be a great inspiration for a virtual gardening world.
• Garden of the sea virtual reality game being played – I just found this video where the player is virtually in a world and can feed penguins/build things – a bit like animal crossing but not as ‘high tech’. The illustration throughout the game has a very cartoon feel. There seems to be a bit of a glitch as well throughout with the tools being quite clunky and quite difficult to ‘collect’ i.e. an axe next to seeds.
Grow-zone: 3D tool creating a virtual garden
Ever wanted to create a room or outdoor space but not have the room? Why not make it virtual and entirely customisable. The 3D tool (would require a lens? Maybe it’s a projection – or it’s a camera set-up in front of the location and you view it through a tv?) could scan the user’s space and then you could build within that space. There would be a catalogue of data, filled with trees and flowers, fruit and vegetables, herbs etc. and it would also store data of each users virtual garden to share with other users, creating inspiration and collaborative ideas.
This would visually look as realistic as possible, and would appeal to young home owners where houses and gardens seem to be getting smaller. Maybe someone has a balcony and would love to envision what plants would look like on that balcony. There’s also no literal maintenance or commitment, and it could still be an enjoyable past-time. It is essentially a game, but very realistic and as high or low maintenance and the user requires it to be.
The overall idea: creating a virtual reality garden – no commitments, no hassle, and an online database stores layout data to inspire you from other people’s virtual gardens on the platform.
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