Abstract
This study aims to explore how emerging smart technologies such as IoT, autonomous devices and mobility systems can be integrated into house plants to facilitate positive emotions as an affective product. Through semi-structured interviews with fifteen young adults (aged 20–30) in South Korea, we collected their positive and negative experiences of plant care. To examine the influence of positive emotion in house plants, we adopted the theoretical framework of positive experiences and thematic ally coded the data according to three different constructs: Object (aesthetic value), Instrument (usability), and Enabler (self-identity and relational value). The results revealed that experiences as an object and an enabler (identity-focused) played key roles in purchase motivation and positive plant care, while negative experiences were typically associated with experiences as an instrument, such as limited plant care knowledge and the need for frequent monitoring. Based on these findings, our study proposes design implications to support identity-focused engagement and to enhance aesthetic appreciation when integrating emerging technologies while reducing practical challenges. This research provides an initial step toward application of smart technologies on house plants, potentially self-moving technologies, for designing emotionally enriching and sustainable house plant experiences.
Keywords
House Plants; Smart technologies; Affective products; Positive user experience
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1060
Citation
Park, C., Kim, C.,and Self, J.A.(2025) Exploring Design Opportunities for Positive User Experiences with House Plants in the Context of Smart Technologies, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1060
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 3 - Design, Art & Technology
Exploring Design Opportunities for Positive User Experiences with House Plants in the Context of Smart Technologies
This study aims to explore how emerging smart technologies such as IoT, autonomous devices and mobility systems can be integrated into house plants to facilitate positive emotions as an affective product. Through semi-structured interviews with fifteen young adults (aged 20–30) in South Korea, we collected their positive and negative experiences of plant care. To examine the influence of positive emotion in house plants, we adopted the theoretical framework of positive experiences and thematic ally coded the data according to three different constructs: Object (aesthetic value), Instrument (usability), and Enabler (self-identity and relational value). The results revealed that experiences as an object and an enabler (identity-focused) played key roles in purchase motivation and positive plant care, while negative experiences were typically associated with experiences as an instrument, such as limited plant care knowledge and the need for frequent monitoring. Based on these findings, our study proposes design implications to support identity-focused engagement and to enhance aesthetic appreciation when integrating emerging technologies while reducing practical challenges. This research provides an initial step toward application of smart technologies on house plants, potentially self-moving technologies, for designing emotionally enriching and sustainable house plant experiences.