Translators

The Personal Object

A biophilic companion that gives houseplants a voice.

Role

ID, UI/UX

Timeline

30 weeks

Skills

Behavioral Research, 3D CAD & Render, Rapid Prototyping

INTRODUCTION

Jump TO Final

How can the tools in our plant care become participants — not just instruments we use?

How can the tools we touch every day become participants in our care—not just instruments we use?

How can the tools we touch every day become participants in our care — not just instruments we use?

Pinpointing The PROBLEM

A Broken Loop

Plant care is a one-way relationship. We give attention and care—but the plant has no way to answer back.

HUMAN

PLANT

(no feedback)

HUMAN

PLANT

(no feedback)

HUMAN

PLANT

(no feedback)

01 · The Learned Experience

We begin without understanding what a plant truly needs. The lack of expertise makes plant care guesswork.

02 · The Present Experience

We can't hear the plant in the moment. With no feedback of current care, its signals arrive too late—after the damage.

03 · The Future Experience

Without feedback, we never improve. And, without the ability to visualize our habits, the same mistakes repeat, plant after plant.

01 · The Learned Experience

We begin without understanding what a plant truly needs. The lack of expertise makes plant care guesswork.

02 · The Present Experience

We can't hear the plant in the moment. With no feedback of current care, its signals arrive too late—after the damage.

03 · The Future Experience

Without feedback, we never improve. And, without the ability to visualize our habits, the same mistakes repeat, plant after plant.

PROCESS - Baseline

PROCESS - Prototyping

Finding the Right Intervention

Sketches of possible directions: Trays, Planters, and Meters

Sketches of possible directions: Trays, Planters, and Meters

Sketches of possible directions: Trays, Planters, and Meters

Sketches of possible directions: Trays, Planters, and Meters

1. Plant Care Kits (Too Reactive)
Kits provide tools, but rely on knowledge the user doesn't have yet, separating the tool from the plant's immediate needs.

2. Smart Planters (Too Restrictive)
A one-size-fits-all vessel couldn't accommodate the diversity of houseplants, root systems, and soil volumes.

3. Insertable Meters
Meters won on versatility—they work across any species or pot size. But existing meters look like sterile medical diagnostics, inducing anxiety.

From Diagnostic to Relational

Reference: Kodama tree spirits, Studio Ghibli.

Meter iteration. Inspired by kodamas to create a personal plant guardian

Final Outcome

Closing The Loop

The Healed Loop

HUMAN

PLANT

the plant, translated

HUMAN

PLANT

the plant, translated

Translators is a system that addresses the painpoints in plant care. Translators help discover your own behavioural patterns that are hard to pinpoint along the journey with your plants making the plant care experience more empathetic and informative.

Immediate Feedback: Translating soil conditions into relational, visual cues.

Animation of Status Effects: Showing when the plant is good or if conditions indicate a plants needs

App Interface

Long-Term Memory: Bridging the learning gap by tracking patterns over time.

Reflection

Tools as Participants

Translators proved that Industrial Design can do more than create passive instruments. By interpreting the interdependent system of a plant, its environment, and its owner, we can design objects that act as true mediators. When we shift our focus from human-centred convenience to multi-species connection, we don't just keep plants alive—we change our own behavior.

Next projects

FLO

Site-Specific Furniture within Network Constraints

FLO

Site-Specific Furniture within Network Constraints

Co-Designing The Classroom

Incorporating Cooperative Inquiry as a Design Process

Co-Designing The Classroom

Incorporating Cooperative Inquiry as a Design Process