UrbanGro

Industry: Climate Tech- Atlantis
My Role: Lead Product Designer
Status of Project: Live

UrbanGro is a platform that enables individuals to grow their own food using hydroponic systems, supported by guided setups and real-time tracking.

It bridges the gap between urban living and sustainable food production, making it easier for people to adopt low-footprint, home-based agriculture. Hydroponics allows plants to grow without soil using nutrient-rich water systems, making it efficient and scalable in urban environments.

Business Context

• Limited access to fresh, chemical-free produce

• Lack of space and knowledge for home farming

• Sustainable practices feel complex and inaccessible

• Food systems are detached from users

• Hydroponics is powerful, but hard to adopt without guidance

• Most solutions are either hardware-first or education-first, rarely both

Business Goals

• Make home food production accessible to beginners

• Increase adoption of sustainable growing systems

• Create a guided, repeatable growing experience

• Build long term engagement through tracking and feedback

Competitive Landscape

1. Hydroponic Kit Providers
   • Rise Gardens
   • Click & Grow
   Strong in hardware, but:
   • Limited digital guidance
   • Weak long-term engagement
   
   

2. Gardening Apps
   • Planta
   • Gardenize
   Strong in tracking, but:
   • Not integrated with physical systems
   
   

3. Smart Farming / IoT Platforms
   • AeroGarden ecosystems
   Strong in automation, but:
   • Expensive
   • Less beginner-friendly

Users & Personas

Persona 1: The Curious Beginner

• Age: 22–35

• Motivation: Grow food at home
  Behavior:

• No prior experience

• Needs step-by-step guidance
  Pain Points:

• Overwhelmed by setup

• Fear of failure
  Needs:

• Simple onboarding

• Guided instructions

• Reassurance

Persona 2: The Sustainability Enthusiast

• Motivation: Reduce environmental footprint
  Behavior:

• Already mindful of consumption
  Pain Points:

• Lack of scalable solutions
  Needs:

• Efficient systems

• Visible impact

Persona 3: The Hobbyist Grower

• Motivation: Enjoys experimentation
  Behavior:

• Tracks plant growth

• Tries different setups
  Pain Points:

• Lack of insights

• No structured tracking
  Needs:

• Data + analytics

• Optimization tools

Design Approach

To make the onboarding easier I tried to keep it as visual as possible by using icons and images

Once users receive they can start setting up their system

After the set up is done they can start monitoring what's going on any time anywhere :) One important aspect was the alerts so that users are notified if something is going wrong