Verda
Designing for the glove.
The Challenge: Cognitive Overload
Commercial greenhouses are unforgiving, high-velocity environments where software failure translates directly to biological loss. Growers navigate miles of humid, high-intensity grow rooms under blinding sodium lighting—conditions that render standard "consumer-grade" UI unusable.
The client, Verda, faced a crisis of "Alert Fatigue." Their existing legacy system relied on dense, spreadsheet-style data tables that required high precision to navigate. In a field where users wear thick nitrile gloves and deal with constant environmental glare, these tiny touch targets led to catastrophic input errors. Our mission was to rebuild the command center from the ground up, moving away from "data density" and toward "operational triage." We needed a system that allowed a grower to diagnose a life-support failure in under three seconds.
The client, Verda, faced a crisis of "Alert Fatigue." Their existing legacy system relied on dense, spreadsheet-style data tables that required high precision to navigate. In a field where users wear thick nitrile gloves and deal with constant environmental glare, these tiny touch targets led to catastrophic input errors. Our mission was to rebuild the command center from the ground up, moving away from "data density" and toward "operational triage." We needed a system that allowed a grower to diagnose a life-support failure in under three seconds.
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The Safety Loop Architecture
We rejected the traditional "flat" dashboard approach, which presents all information with equal visual weight. Instead, I engineered a proprietary "Safety Loop" architecture. This is a linear cognitive journey designed to force intentionality.The system is structured into three progressive states:
- Signal: The Global Dashboard acts as a passive monitoring layer, using pulsing glow effects and high-contrast borders to signal anomalies without requiring deep reading.
- Diagnosis: The Zone Detail view provides the "Sensor Reality"—comparative data points that explain why an alert was triggered.
- Intervention: The Override Modal is the final, isolated layer where hardware state is changed.
By decoupling "Seeing" from "Doing," we created a structural guardrail that ensures a user never alters hardware settings without first passing through the diagnostic layer.
- Signal: The Global Dashboard acts as a passive monitoring layer, using pulsing glow effects and high-contrast borders to signal anomalies without requiring deep reading.
- Diagnosis: The Zone Detail view provides the "Sensor Reality"—comparative data points that explain why an alert was triggered.
- Intervention: The Override Modal is the final, isolated layer where hardware state is changed.
By decoupling "Seeing" from "Doing," we created a structural guardrail that ensures a user never alters hardware settings without first passing through the diagnostic layer.
Visual Engineering & Ergonomics
The interface treats the smartphone not as a delicate media device, but as a ruggedized industrial control panel. Every visual choice was dictated by the physics of the greenhouse:
- The Dual-Layer Color Logic: To eliminate "color soup," we established a strict semantic rule. Red, amber, and green are reserved exclusively for Biological Status (The Plant). Deep Purple is reserved for System Interaction (The Human). This ensures that when a grower sees red, they know it's a plant emergency, not a UI state.
- Glove-First Ergonomics: We abandoned the standard 44px HIG/Material design guidelines. All primary interaction zones were expanded to a 64px minimum.
- High-Contrast Typography: We utilized Barlow, a condensed industrial sans-serif, to maximize legibility. The condensed tracking allows for large font sizes without breaking layouts, ensuring critical metrics are readable from an arm's length even in foggy conditions.
- The Dual-Layer Color Logic: To eliminate "color soup," we established a strict semantic rule. Red, amber, and green are reserved exclusively for Biological Status (The Plant). Deep Purple is reserved for System Interaction (The Human). This ensures that when a grower sees red, they know it's a plant emergency, not a UI state.
- Glove-First Ergonomics: We abandoned the standard 44px HIG/Material design guidelines. All primary interaction zones were expanded to a 64px minimum.
- High-Contrast Typography: We utilized Barlow, a condensed industrial sans-serif, to maximize legibility. The condensed tracking allows for large font sizes without breaking layouts, ensuring critical metrics are readable from an arm's length even in foggy conditions.
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Friction as a Feature
In most product design, "frictionless" is the goal. In industrial safety, friction is a requirement. A standard "Tap to Confirm" dialog is a liability when a sweaty thumb slip can accidentally shut off an entire irrigation sector.
To solve this, I introduced "Resistance UI." For high-risk actions—such as a manual vent override—we replaced buttons with a full-width Slide-to-Confirm mechanism. This digital "deadman switch" requires a deliberate, sustained horizontal gesture that cannot be mimicked by an accidental tap or a pocket-dial. This forces the user into a moment of conscious physical intent, bridging the gap between digital command and physical mechanical execution.
To solve this, I introduced "Resistance UI." For high-risk actions—such as a manual vent override—we replaced buttons with a full-width Slide-to-Confirm mechanism. This digital "deadman switch" requires a deliberate, sustained horizontal gesture that cannot be mimicked by an accidental tap or a pocket-dial. This forces the user into a moment of conscious physical intent, bridging the gap between digital command and physical mechanical execution.
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The Outcome: Reliability by Design
Verda has transitioned from a source of anxiety to the industry standard for safety-first agricultural automation. During the pilot phase, the introduction of the "Slide-to-Confirm" model and the "Dual-Layer Color Logic" resulted in a zero-incident rate regarding accidental hardware triggers.
By respecting the hostile physical reality of the user—their fatigue, their gear, and their environment—we created a digital tool that feels as heavy and reliable as the steel and glass structures it controls. It proves that in the world of industrial design, clarity isn't just an aesthetic choice; it is the ultimate form of safety.
By respecting the hostile physical reality of the user—their fatigue, their gear, and their environment—we created a digital tool that feels as heavy and reliable as the steel and glass structures it controls. It proves that in the world of industrial design, clarity isn't just an aesthetic choice; it is the ultimate form of safety.