FieldGuide is your key to uncovering a world of diverse plant species and wildlife. It’s your one stop shop for educational quizzes to prepare you for the great outdoors.

Study plants, animals, insects, and fungi through fun, educational quizzes.

Go outside. Know outside.

What you’ll find in this case study

Or let me tell you about it here

FG - Case Study Intro

Project Overview

My Role

Solo UX Designer

Researcher, Design Strategist, UX/UI Designer

Platform

IOS

Tools

Figma, Procreate

Project Length

10 weeks

Understand

FG - Understand the Problem

Understand the Problem

Like many people, I dream of living in a little cottage in the woods, maybe next to a stream, perhaps on the edge of a mountain. I would spend my days reading and drawing, baking and sewing, and, of course, walking through the woods. I dream of knowing every plant I see. Its name, how common it is, it’s uses, etc.

I think of this whenever I do find myself out and about, passing by plants, trees, mushrooms, birds, and all the like. With life and all the hustle and bustle it brings, I don’t find time to read through my books on plants and animals, and even less time to work on actively remembering what I read, or better yet, going into the woods solely to ID everything I see with the help of a book or my phone.

Thus the idea for FieldGuide was born. Much like Duolingo, the aim of the app is to prepare its users for real life interactions, without the use of their phones. Through fun, interactive, educational quizzes, users can build their knowledge of plants, animals, insects, and fungi based on whatever region they’re interested in studying. Within various categories, nature enthusiasts can start with the basic, most common species that they might know already, or would most likely interact with on a regular basis, building their confidence as they learn to ID.

We are quickly losing more and more natural landscapes to human development, while also creating a further disconnection from understanding the ecosystems we dwell within. This leads to less of an understanding and appreciation for natural environments, which can result in:

  • more urban sprawl

  • a decrease in good mental health

  • increased loss of natural habitats for wildlife

  • increase greenhouse gases and climate change

  • more dependence on global food imports

The Problem Space

Research shows that a connection with nature improves mental health; we have become dependant on global imports, leading to a weakened circular economy; Canada’s natural landscape is quickly dissappearing in areas of human infrastructure and settlement.

Secondary Research

An estimated two-thirds of all produce consumed in Canada is imported.

- International Trade Administration

Canada’s landscape consisting of settlement and human infrastructure went up by 11% from 2000 to 2015.

- Statistics Canada

Mental health is improved by 92% when individuals engage with natural outdoor environments.

- National Library of Medicine

Assumptions

  • Individuals' lack of awareness affects their ability to understand environmental changes.

  • Enhancing awareness can motivate individuals to make sustainable choices.

  • Personal experiences and connections with nature improves peoples' quality of life and mental health.

  • People want to know more about the flora and fauna in their area.

Research

Research Methodology

Research Goals

  • Identify how nature enthusiasts currently learn to identify flora and fauna

  • Understand pain points in the plant/wildlife identification learning process

  • Discover what motivates people to learn about local ecosystems

  • Determine how users might incorporate a learning app into their nature routines

Research Methods & Rationale

  • User Interviews: Conducted semi-structured interviews with 3 participants to gain deep qualitative insights into their experiences, motivations, and frustrations when learning about nature identification

  • Secondary Research: Analyzed existing solutions including field guides, nature apps, and educational platforms to identify market gaps and best practices

  • Competitive Analysis: Evaluated similar learning apps (like Duolingo) to understand effective engagement mechanisms for educational content

Participant Recruitment

  • Selected participants with varying levels of nature knowledge:

    • Beginner nature enthusiasts who expressed interest but had limited knowledge

    • Intermediate users who occasionally use identification resources

    • More experienced nature lovers who actively seek to expand their knowledge

  • Participants must be adults aged 18 and above, from various backgrounds and occupations, residing in urban or suburban areas and have some regular outdoor interest

Interview Structure

  • 30-45 minute sessions conducted remotely and in person

  • Questions focused on:

    • Current habits and resources for nature identification

    • Frustrations and challenges when trying to learn and remember species

    • Motivations for wanting to learn more about local flora and fauna

    • Technology usage patterns during outdoor activities

    • Learning preferences and styles

Interview Insights

Below are 3 user interviews with individuals who met the participant criteria. Included are each participants background, a summary of the interview, highlights, and insights.

Key Patterns & Themes Across Interviews

After analyzing all three interviews, several significant patterns emerged that inform our understanding of how users connect with and learn about nature:

Motivations for Learning Nature Identification

  • Personal Well-being: 100% of participants mentioned nature's positive impact on their emotional health and well-being

  • Knowledge Sharing: 67% expressed desire to share nature knowledge with others (friends during hikes, teaching children)

  • Cultural Connection: 33% specifically mentioned interest in indigenous knowledge and naming of plants

  • Changing Life Circumstances: 33% noted how life changes (like parenthood) created new motivation for nature learning

Current Learning Approaches

  • Casual Observation: 100% engage in daily or regular outdoor observation as part of their learning

  • Varying Confidence Levels: Clear progression from high confidence (Interviewee 01 who forages) to low confidence (Interviewee 03 who can identify only deer and roses)

  • Existing Tool Usage: 67% mentioned using some form of identification tools (apps, books)

Pain Points & Challenges

  • Knowledge Retention: 100% expressed difficulty remembering species information over time

  • Time Constraints: 67% mentioned "life's busyness" as a barrier to deeper learning

  • Lack of Foundational Knowledge: 33% highlighted that not having basic knowledge makes further learning difficult

  • Technology Distraction: 33% specifically noted preference not to use phones when in nature

Desired Features in Learning Resources

  • Enjoyment Factor: 100% emphasized the importance of learning being "fun" or "enjoyable"

  • Visual Components: 67% indicated preference for visual learning aids

  • Cultural Context: 67% expressed interest in historical or indigenous information about species

  • Progressive Learning: 100% wanted resources that build knowledge over time in an accessible way

  • Social Elements: 33% mentioned interest in community or social aspects of learning

Impact of Deeper Nature Knowledge

  • Enhanced Experience: 100% believed deeper understanding would enhance their outdoor experiences

  • Environmental Awareness: 67% connected biodiversity knowledge with better environmental stewardship

  • Community Connection: 67% saw nature knowledge as a way to connect with others or their community

Analyze

Affinity Mapping

Through Affinity Mapping I was able to establish the interviewees goals, motivations, pain points, and behaviours. I then synthesized these findings into two main themes:

Theme 1: Desire for Knowledge of Nature

Users seek to bridge the gap between their curiosity about nature and the challenge of identifying local plants and animals. They want accessible and engaging resources to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the environment.

Theme 1 Insights

Theme 2: Deepening Nature Connection

A strong desire exists among users to nurture a deeper connection with nature, driven by the uplifting effect of outdoor experiences. They aim to share this connection with others and infuse nature into their daily lives.

Theme 2 Insights

Who am I designing for?

Based on the User Interviews, I developed Emily. She is a modern woman, but someone who enjoys slowing down and taking in the world around her. She is ambitious and hungry for knowledge, always aiming to deepen her understanding and gain insights into the biodiversity that surrounds her.

Experience Mapping

Currently Emily must either rely on her previous knowledge from personal research, or bring out her phone to ID, when she’s looking for a disconnection from technology, as someone who works from a computer all day long and relies on it for most other aspects of her life.

User Stories & Epics

This app is all about connecting nature enthusiasts to their local environment. These user stories and epics outline how the app helps users learn about plants and animals while they're out enjoying nature.

I want to make learning fun and distraction-free, so users can focus on the world around them. These stories cover everything from creating quizzes to tracking progress and earning rewards.

My goal is to help users become more knowledgeable and engaged with their natural surroundings.

Expanded Epic

The heart of this nature exploration app lies in the engaging and informative quiz-taking experience.

Through this core epic, users will immerse themselves in an interactive and educational journey that fosters a deeper connection with the natural world.

The quiz-taking functionality is designed to make learning about plants, animals, and ecosystems not only fun but also accessible.

Let's explore the key features and user stories that make up this enriching epic.

Welcome to the app's Quiz Taking task flow. This journey guides users in exploring nature through quizzes. The app caters to nature enthusiasts of all levels, offering engaging quizzes on various topics. In the Task Flow, you’ll go through the steps, starting from the home screen, to the quiz, to reviewing the results. The User’s goal is to complete a quiz on Edible Plants and to view their final results.

Task Flow

How Might We…

How might we develop an intuitive and enjoyable platform that helps users effortlessly identify and learn about local plants and animals, addressing the challenges of information scarcity and identification, and sparking their curiosity and connection with the natural world?

Sketch

I began looking for inspiration for the design and layout of the the app. I took elements from other quizzing apps, various vintage style UIs I came across, and even old library catalogues.

I wanted to give the user the feeling of being a botanist or zoologist in a time of new discovery, and transport them to another era, where these plants and animals are just being newly uncovered, and understanding them is important work.

Ideation Process

Inspiration for the design of this app comes from vintage “Field Notes” notebooks and old library card catalogues.

I aimed to incorporate a simple, clean line design, with an old-time feel, with the file folder motif throughout the app.

Inspiration & Design Considerations

I’m took UI inspiration from other designs that align with this vintage feel.

The original inspiration for this app is Duolingo, with an education focus, driving the user to come back and learn every day, through quizzes and more. So, I looked at other quiz/education UIs, as well.

Based on my inspiration research, I began sketching my lo-fi wireframes. Here you’ll see the beginning stages of what the final screens would eventually become.

Wireframe Development

Though the tab style for the different pages was hard to nail down on paper, I went ahead and used that motif in the final designs.

UI Mockup Creation

And these were the final designs I went with and what I based my final mockups on, as you’ll see in the following section.

Prototype, Test, Iterate

Grayscale Prototype

For the grayscale prototype phase, I conducted moderated usability testing sessions with 5 participants to gather feedback on the initial design direction and identify usability issues early in the development process.

Testing Approach

  • Participants: 5 individuals with varying levels of nature knowledge and app experience

  • Format: One-on-one moderated sessions lasting approximately 20-30 minutes each

  • Testing Environment: Remote sessions using screen sharing to observe interactions

Testing Goals

  • Evaluate the intuitiveness of the app's navigation and information architecture

  • Assess the clarity of instructions and onboarding process

  • Identify any usability obstacles or points of confusion

  • Gather feedback on the quiz format and learning progression

Testing Protocol

  1. Brief introduction to the project concept without revealing specific design intentions

  2. Task-based scenarios asking participants to complete key user journeys

  3. Think-aloud protocol where participants verbalized their thoughts while navigating

  4. Post-test interview questions to gather overall impressions and suggestions

User Testing Methodology

I conducted User Testing with 5 different individuals. Each gave invaluable feedback, of which I was able to implement most of. Look below to see their insights.

Testing Insights & Feedback

Design Iterations Based on Feedback

Notes and initial thoughts post-testing

  • Create a more cohesive high-fidelity components library

  • Nail down the style I’m going for

  • Write down all features I’d like to incorporate into the app

  • Finding a way to make the app have a vintage feel, without it being “dated”

V01 - V02 Changes

EXPLORE PAGE

  • Changed forest imagery

  • Switched the starting point from the top to the bottom

  • Eliminated the “Explore New Species” button

QUIZ PAGES

  • Changed from 5 to 3 progress dots up top

  • Changed the instructions on quiz 03

  • Changed “correct!” to “CORRECT!”

  • Changed “continue” to “CONTINUE”

  • Added a “3” into the hearts, to suggest 3 lives/tries left

  • Added dark outlines around correct answers on quiz 03

  • Added “CORRECT!” to quiz 0

OVERALL

  • Added an App tutorial to begin with

  • Added a Friends Page

  • Added ability to swipe between tabs

Round 02 Tester Feedback

Round 2 testing came with very little feedback:

  • No capitalization of unit in tutorial

  • Change from click to tap in tutorial

  • Still haven't added flower and bird

  • “I’m already taking a quiz, I would've liked a little intro.”

Branding is where I really wanted Field Guide to stand out. I wanted to bring a vintage feel, playing with the concept of library catalogue cards and file folder systems that modern systems still use, but paying homage to feel of hardcopy.

Branding Development

Final Design

Typography

I wanted to carry on the Futura font from the Field Notes notebooks and pair it with a more vintage feeling typeface, so landed on Red Hat Mono, which reminded me of a typewrite and looks a lot like the typeface one would find on old library catalogue cards.

Wordmark

I was inspired by icons of national parks, outdoors brands, and books.

My initial drawings followed my inspiration quite closely.

I then decided to start playing around on the computer, as I knew that the simple “Field Guide” in Futura was going to be the basis of my wordmark.

I started playing around with adding little outdoorsy icons.

I eventually landed on the branch and butterfly.

I decided to enlarge the butterfly and move it to the second “D” to spread out the imagery within the lettering.

And this is my final wordmark in black and white.

I liked the imagery in the wordmark, so decided to just make a simple, slightly modified version for the icon

I played around with colour and the placement of the butterfly.

In the end, this is where I landed for the icon and wordmark. I like the vintage and natural feel of the forest green and warm, yellowy tan, reminiscent of old paper or notebooks. The colouring and imagery give a feel for what can be expected inside the app without even having to read a description.

High-Fidelity Prototype

In this final app iteration, I've invested countless hours in trials, testing, and refinement. Every element was meticulously chosen. But this is just the start. I'm excited to witness FieldGuide's ongoing evolution.

For now, I take pride in the work I’ve accomplished and am thrilled to present this latest version of FieldGuide.

Marketing Website

Check out the FieldGuide Marketing website.

Available on Desktop and Mobile!

What Did I learn?

Though this is just the beginning of FieldGuide’s journey into being, I’m proud of these humble beginnings. I’ve learned an incredible amount and still feel there is so much more I can do and look forward to exploring what this app idea and I are capable of!

Some of my key take aways from this adventure have been:

  • don’t throw things out.

  • make copies of files for new versions

  • get the basics up and deal with the small details later

  • it’s easier to edit overall pieces if they’re a component’s iterant

  • go over everything first and make a plan

  • explore every option

  • don’t stop on the first idea, even if it’s what you end up using

Next Steps

I truly believe that FieldGuide is something that could be of great use to many people. Not only to connect them with nature, but with themselves and their community.

The next steps in this journey are:

  • do more user testing and feedback

  • further refine existing features

  • expand the content and features

  • prioritize making the design more accessible

  • work with developers to begin building

  • address any legal aspects

  • continue to develop a long term vision

  • explore revenue options (ads, subscription, etc.)

Contact me.

keiroblyth@gmail.com

Victoria, BC, Canada