1. Challenge & Strategic Alignment

The project’s goal was to modernise the HTA (Horticultural Trades Association) platform, the central hub for UK gardening and landscape professionals. The core challenge was an outdated interface that failed to promote valuable features, resulting in low engagement and poor data contribution across vital resources and benchmarking tools.

Goals

Business Goals: Transform the platform into an intuitive, high-value product that actively encourages member participation and streamlines access to industry data.

Strategic Kickoff: I initiated and led a collaborative UX audit with the design team to identify platform pain points. Following this, I synthesised findings and took part in executive stakeholder workshops to define a product roadmap focused on active data contribution.

2. Process, Team, and Design Phase

The project utilised a leadership model focused on team empowerment, where I oversaw the strategic direction while allowing the UX designer to take ownership of the design journey.

Roles and Responsibility

Lead Designer: I was responsible for the end-to-end design strategy and presenting the product vision to executive stakeholders.

Team Members: The core project team consisted of myself (End-to-End Lead), a UX Designer, a Project Manager, a Frontend Developer and a Backend Developer.

Design Oversight & Empowerment: I provided guidance and oversight throughout the UX phase, allowing the UX designer to lead the creative execution while I ensured all outputs met the core strategic objectives.

Design phase and testing strategy

Information Architecture: I provided detailed guidance on simplifying the multi-step user onboarding flow for complex business and crop information.

Userflows & Wireframing: I reviewed and refined the user flows created by the designer to ensure logical, low-friction progression.

UI Design System: I led the development of a specialised UI design system by adapting an off-the-shelf UI kit to align with the HTA brand, ensuring the interface was both professional and accessible to all members.

3. Execution & Goal-Driven Design

The execution delivered a professional, action-oriented experience that established a new standard for HTA’s digital tools.

Foundational Systems

Action-Oriented Dashboard: I oversaw the redesign of the core dashboard, which implemented card-based layouts to significantly improve feature discoverability.

Bespoke Design System: To ensure a rapid but tailored build, I adapted an off-the-shelf UI kit, evolving it into a comprehensive design system specific to the HTA brand.

Technical Feasibility: I maintained a focus on technical collaboration, ensuring the adapted components were optimised for a high-performance build.

4. Measurable Impact & Results

The platform modernisation successfully repositioned the HTA hub as an essential tool for the horticultural industry.

Direct Resulting Impact

Increased Workflow Efficiency: The strategic redesign of the interface and onboarding journeys resulted in a 15% increase in workflow efficiency.

Improved Member Participation: The strategic shift toward results consumption directly encouraged higher levels of member engagement and data contribution.

Streamlined Data Onboarding: By refining user journeys and simplifying complex flows, we reduced administrative friction for businesses reporting crop data.

Executive Alignment: Facilitating workshops ensured a clear product roadmap that aligned executive stakeholders with the long-term vision of the platform.

Summary

The HTA project demonstrated how design leadership through oversight and empowerment can transform a legacy tool. By guiding a specialised team through a comprehensive UX audit and an action-oriented redesign, I delivered a platform that maximises feature discoverability and fosters deep engagement within the UK’s gardening community.