AgTech Web App | Iron Forge

An interactive web-first data platform for farmland with a focus on data aggregation and climate change impact.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Duration

4 months

Tools

Figma, Miro, Principle, Microsoft Teams

Team

UX/UI Designer (2x), Project Manager (1x)

Background + Goals

A client project in the agricultural tech (AgTech) industry

This was one of several projects I worked on during my time at Iron Forge Development. Both my senior designer/mentor and I were responsible for designing the full minimum viable product (MVP) for our client while also helping out with their branding materials. Unfortunately, due to privacy reasons, I can't showcase the full details of this case study. That said, please feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more about it in broader terms!

Design Process

On a macro level, my design process for this project looked like the following:

Understanding project goals and requirements with the client.
Creating an extensive information architecture.
Establishing a visual design system.
Creating high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes.
Iterating based on client feedback.
Handing off final designs to my mobile developer.

Outcome

Showcasing our proposed solution through a clickable prototype

After designing the high-fidelity screens and getting them reviewed by my mentor, I managed to create a high-fidelity prototype and present it to the client. Ultimately, they were very impressed and pleased with the result! While it didn’t end up becoming a fully developed application, the client was able to use our prototype and share it publicly within the real-estate market.

Challenges + Reflections

What went right and wrong?

Overall, I really enjoyed working on this project! Although this experience went relatively smoothly for the most part, there were still a few challenges that I faced along the way:

Working on a project from start to finish. Being mostly responsible for the end-to-end design process seemed like a daunting feat initially since I was just starting out as a designer. However, I became more comfortable the further I was into this project. If anything, this experience allowed me to take initiative on my work and gave me the creative liberty I needed to create the designs that exist now. Also, working with my design mentor during this really helped as he was able to offer me guidance and feedback when necessary.
Last minute additions to designs from the client. While designing the screens, the client would request for more features to be added which ultimately disrupted the flow of our process. To combat this, we typically have a document outlining what features needed to be designed and prioritized for the initial version of a product. So if a particular feature was not discussed prior to the design phase, it would be considered out of scope and therefore not included in the designs.
It's more about the client than the user. Due to my agency’s low UX design maturity at the time, as well as already having a set design process to strictly follow, I was more focused on delivering the client/business’ needs rather than the user’s needs. This is where conducting my own user research and usability testing would’ve helped in understanding WHAT and WHY certain features were required for this application.