During the pandemic, a lot of people turned to taking care of plants in their homes to help them destress and cope with all the trauma. Since we were all mostly staying at home, it was easy to monitor these plants most of the time. But now that a lot of people are going back to work in their offices or traveling for longer periods of time, it can be a bit more challenging to keep an eye on the plants that we leave at home. So product designers have been coming up with various concepts to help plant mommies and daddies take care of their “pets”.
Designers: Yunjeong Bae, Eojin Roh
This concept product is something that can serve as a butler for your plants that are left at home. Its name is Purtler or a combination of plant and butler. It doesn’t necessarily roll off the tongue that easily but there’s room for improvement later on. But for now, this is what we’re calling this device that will be able to take a closer look at your plants through a camera and a connected app. It should help plant owners, particularly the ones who may still be relatively new to this.
The design of the Purtler is inspired by plants and organic lifeforms to match what it’s supposed to be watching. The stand looks like a long piece of leaf with water droplets. The bottom part can even serve as a shelf for items like books and other decorations. But the main thing that you’ll notice is that there’s an “eye” at the top which is actually where the camera is placed. The device that looks like a web camera lets you take a closer look at how things like temperature and humidity affect the plants.
There’s a product render of how the app looks like and it is where you’ll be able to keep track of information regarding your plants. It doesn’t really show how exactly the plants are monitored but what it would look like within the app. The camera part is not necessarily hidden as the designers wanted it to literally keep an eye on your plants. It’s also designed to be part of your furniture as the leaf silhouette can add to the ambiance of your living room.
