e-Garden

A digital-physical gardening ecosystem making urban gardening easier, scalable, and more social.

Tools & Methods

Figma, Arduino, SolidWorks.

Industry

Internet of Things & Sustainability

Duration

4 months

Project Overview

Together with the Municipality of Eindhoven, this project set out to make gardening more inclusive and community-focused. Our team designed the e-Garden, a system that comes with a smart pot, seeds, and an app where people can share tips, track progress, and celebrate results. The pots connect to each other for scalability, and by placing them in open community centers, the e-Garden creates an accessible way for minorities and locals to take part in gardening and connect with one another.

Design Challenge

Design a product that empowers underrepresented groups in Eindhoven to participate and connect.

Project Overview

Design Challenge

Design a product that empowers underrepresented groups in Eindhoven to participate and connect.

Design Process

Research and exploring various issues in Eindhoven.
Narrowed down to gardening as a way to build community and increase participation among minorities.
Developed ideas into concrete features for the e-Garden system.
Worked across disciplines to prototype the pot and app.
Presented and tested the concept with the municipality, who saw potential for it to not only increase greenery in the city but also scale into small business opportunities for users.

Reflection

This project showed me how broad social issues can be approached through design, and my first attempt for UI/UX design. At first, it was difficult to translate such a wide range of problems into one clear solution, but through discussion and iteration we found a direction that felt meaningful. I also learned the importance of designing not just a product, but a system that can grow and adapt with its users. Seeing the municipality’s interest in its potential impact reminded me that even small design ideas can spark bigger changes in a community.