Established UX foundation for an early-stage agriculture startup, driving $300K fundraising
Founding Product Designer | Design System | SaaS
In summer 2024, I built and implemented a scalable design system across web, mobile, and desktop for a tech agriculture company, streamlining updates and ensuring consistency across the platform, CI Score tool, and website. I unified experiences across multiple platforms and designed the CI Score tool from 0-1, driving measurable improvements in user experience and product adoption.
Founding Product Designer
Design System
SaaS
ROLES
UX Researcher
UX/UI Designer
Motion Graphic Designer
SKILLS
Design System
User Interview
UX Research
UI Design
Motion Graphic Design
Accessibility Design
TEAM
2 Product Designers
(include me)
1 CEO, 1 Product Manager
2 Developers
DURATION
12 Weeks
Shipped Project
@ Agwise
SNEAK PEEK
Driving Agwise growth through scalable design
$300K
secured in early funding
23
states of farm and ranch adoption
Contributed to Agwise’s growth by designing a scalable system, the Carbon Intensity Tool, and the redesign of the platform, enabling consistent user experience and efficient workflows. The platform now serves farms and ranches across 23 U.S. states and has secured $300K in early funding for expansion.
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TIMELINE
Agile design in a fast-paced startup company
Working at a fast-paced smart agriculture company taught me to adapt quickly to agile workflows. We set weekly sprint goals, and design requirements often shifted based on stakeholder feedback and evolving laws. To keep up, I researched carbon intensity, foliar scripts, and regulatory changes to inform my design decisions.
PROBLEM
Fragmented design, frustrating experience
Previous Interface
Before I joined, the startup had no dedicated designers, and interfaces were built by the product manager and CEO, leading to inconsistent UI and unclear hierarchy. The original tool was only tested internally and with a few close clients. As the company prepared to expand to three tools (CI Score, Haney AI, and Foliar Script) under one platform, a unified design system was essential to strengthen the brand and ensure visual consistency.
DISCOVER
Design with stakeholders
I interviewed stakeholders, including Agwise CEO Sarah and farming consultant Russell, to gain deeper insights. Their requirements from business, product, and user perspectives guided my design through.
Customer segments
Our primary users are multi-farm owners who manage multiple farms through the platform, overseeing field profitability, soil health, and farm operations. We also collaborate with agricultural testing labs to provide accurate soil analysis data.
Pain points
Solution approaches
SOLUTION
Design system based on the Atomic Design principles
Establish consistent foundations
Define the typography system, color palette, and iconography as “atoms”.
Build functional UI components
Build buttons, interactive elements, input fields, and cards as “molecules”.
Structure core UI elements
Design the navigation system, tables, and graphs as “organisms”.
Scalable UI across products
Implement the designed components and elements across various functional pages. The pages below were designed by me and my colleague.
Platform dashboard
The Agwise platform provides farm owners with integrated tools to efficiently manage their land, livestock, and profits. The design system ensures a structured and intuitive presentation of information, enhancing usability and consistency across the platform.
Carbon intensity score tool
The CI Score tool empowers farmers to access tax incentives and adopt sustainable practices. The design system brings clarity to complex financial data, ensuring critical metrics are immediately visible and easy to interpret.
Foliar Script tool
Foliar Script delivers tailored nutrient recommendations to boost crop health and efficiency.
The interactive sliders and tags, built on the design system, ensure a cohesive and intuitive user experience.
Before & after comparisons
Grid system & responsiveness
IMPACTS
REFLECTION
I gained hands-on experience building a product from scratch with cross-functional teams, quickly adapting to a new industry and learning how essential adaptability is in both learning and product design.
Thriving in an agile, fast-paced environment
In our startup setting, I worked in weekly sprints, testing with a farming consultant and iterating rapidly. Given the niche, evolving nature of carbon intensity tax, I adapted interfaces to new insights and learned to present multiple design options to speed up decision-making.
Design system thinking at scale
Contributing to a large cross-platform design system, I drew on frameworks like Tailwind CSS, Material Design, and Figma resources while collaborating with teammates to deliver consistent, efficient interfaces.
Finding mentorship outside the organization
Without a senior designer on our team, I sought guidance from mentors and the Figma Community, whose insights helped me navigate key design challenges.
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