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All-in-one process computer that delivers integrated solutions for climate, water and energy management.
Hoogendoorn needed to overhaul the UI of its IIVO process computer which plays a vital role in the company’s success. A balance had to be struck to ensure established users remained happy with the new UI while updating the functionality and user journey to cater for everyone.
Hoogendoorn, a global innovator in horticultural automation, has a growing need to deliver solutions that serve a wide variety of clients with disparate skill bases and requirements. By conducting in-depth client research and usability testing we helped Hoogendoorn develop a UI that met and exceeded client expectations, regardless of their technical knowledge.
With a strong market presence, Hoogendoorn's expertise and ambition have led to unrivalled success in every continent across the globe. They have an increasingly diverse user base composed of people with extensive knowledge or even specialised roles who use the UI & tools in advanced greenhouses, and other less high-tech greenhouses which might have one person with a greater workload but is less tech-savvy.
Hoogendoorns challenges are familiar to many businesses that are adapting to digital transformation and an increasingly diverse user base. But often the best way to understand what people need is to ask them - and that’s what we did. We conducted extensive research onsite with both technical and operational staff, building on our findings with detailed client interviews, and concept dashboards.
“Our journey began with a simple idea: let’s truly understand what a plant needs, and build a system to accommodate that. From this idea Hike One has taken us into the world of User Experience.”
With a wealth of user and market insights gathered, we workshopped the ideas with Hoogendoorn over a number of sessions. Remodelling the existing iSii system turned out to be too complex. It was worth starting from scratch and building completely new back-end with improved functionality and components, as well as a new visual style for the new IIVO system.
Working in agile way between design and development meant that any obstacles were dealt with swiftly and adjustments could be made while the project came to life. We tackled the new design requirements in a series of workshops, exploring opportunities until we developed a style that had a stronger and more modern visual identity. We still maintained elements from the historic typography and color palette to promote brand recognition and recall.
As a business with technology at its core, Hoogendoorn had historically prioritised development over design. The success of this project, coupled with their ongoing need to diversify usability, has encouraged them to think more like designers. As a result, we also helped them set up their own UX team.
The designs we produced for the interface have been well-received by Hoogendoorn’s customers, and the accompanying digital style guide will support Hoogendoorn’s teams as their products evolve.
Hoogendoorn looks to further improve the Data Driven Growing concept, which utilises powerful algorithms and real-time insights allowing growers to make the best decisions for their crops. Parallel to that, they are running an innovation track that is focussed on automation. The goal for this is to build more and more knowledge into the system which will allow Hoogendoorn to ease up the day-to-day operations of the greenhouse.
