Future Roots
UX & Service Design MA | Final Project
Overview
Future Roots is a service developed during my MA final project. I applied mixed-method behavioural research, co-design strategies, and iterative prototyping to design a service to support small UK farmers transitioning toward sustainable agriculture.
The Challenge
Sustainable agriculture has been identified as essential to a Net Zero future. Despite supportive policies, small UK farmers have been resistant to change. The challenge was first to discover why and identify an opportunity that matched farmers’ needs and support the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.
(I made this representation of the opportunity context using the three horizons framework (Baghi,Coley and White, 1999) to frame the long-term opportunity context.)
My Role
I independently planned and conducted the full UX process, from framing the problem to final prototyping. My approach combined behavioural research, co-design, and iterative development to shape a service grounded in real user needs.
(Graphic of my design process and steps taken)
The Process
1. Data collection:
Framing the Problem
To grasp the broader context, I conducted secondary research and interviewed agricultural professionals, using this to create an Ecosystem Map focused on small farms. This clarified complex influences and revealed barriers such as farmers being unsure where to begin and feeling a lack of information or incentives. The next step was understanding the ‘why’.
(Slides from project presentation, showing initial ecosystem map I made and key quotes from farming professionals)
2. Data Collection: User Research
To explore farmer perspectives, I used ethnographic methods guided by the COM-B behavioural change framework (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation). This ensured a holistic understanding of behavioural drivers.
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Interviews: I conducted six semi-structured interviews with farmers focused on behavioural drivers and barriers.
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Discussion Tool: I created a matrix activity where farmers placed sustainable methods by appeal and understanding, to uncover deeper motivations.
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Observation: I shadowed daily operations on a small farm, to understand farming demands and unconscious actions.
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Focus Group: I facilitated a “What if” brainstorming session to explore motivators and desired outcomes surrounding sustainability.
These methods were iteratively refined to uncover deeper emotional and identity-based not just practical ones.
(Some key quotes about defining sustainable farming from the interviews I conducted with farmers)
3. Data Analysis: Findings and Insight Development
To make sense of the data, I used data synthesis techniques that revealed behavioural patterns, developed insights and helped prioritise opportunities.
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Affinity Diagramming: I brought findings together and identified recurring themes across research findings.
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Behavioural Mapping: I categorised insights using COM-B, visualising behavioural patterns to distinguish internal vs external blockers.
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Personas: I developed proto-personas along a readiness scale from “Wait and See” to “Commit and Act,” reframing the challenge as a behavioural journey.
Key Insights: Analysis revealed small UK farmers are resources poor and many operate from a “Wait and See” mind-set, driven by defensiveness to change, a disconnect between sustainability and their farming identity, and the perceived lack of a practical starting point.
(My representation of the cognitive behavioural factors I found affecting farmers move to sustainable farming aligned with my personas aligned to a scale of adoption readiness)
4. Data Analysis: Opportunity Prioritisation
Using an importance/difficulty matrix, I prioritised the 34 insights to identify the most impactful and achievable opportunities. From the top options, I crafted “How Might We” questions to focus design options and guide initial ideation.
Selected Opportunity: To design a service that met resource-limited farmers where they were, helping “Wait and See” farmers take manageable first steps toward sustainable farming and support gradual adoption. This reframed the challenge as a mind-set shift, not just a practical one.
The aim became to foster a ‘Start Mentality’, a stepping stone to deeper engagement and long-term change. From this opportunity four guiding design principles emerged to guide solution development and insure it fit the complex interactions of personal and business motivations of the user:
Design Principles
5. Concept Discovery: Refine Aim and Initial Discovery
This phase defined design boundaries and explored how to shift farmer’s mind-sets and offer a meaningful ‘practical starting point’ for them.
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Systems Thinking: I revisited the ecosystem map and used COM-B analysis to identify why “Wait and See” farmers weren’t engaging with existing resources.
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Co-design Session: I used Brain Bank and collage tasks with farmers to surface emotional drivers and past service experiences.
These activities helped explore early service ideas and clarify user needs.
6. Concept Discovery: Ideation
Idea brainstorming revealed tension between emotive identity-driven and more practical service ideas, both parts seeming necessary for adoption. The breakthrough came recognising that farmers see practicality in observing peers in action, connecting emotion with action.
Inspired by this and the innovation design process model (Morris, Mills and Crawford, 2000), I combined two ideas: A collective tree-planting campaign and educational intro events. Createing an emotionally engaging entry point to expand knowledge and spur action.
(Representation of Morris, Mills and Crawford’s Innovation-Decision Process for farming (2000), fit to the waght and see personer.)
6. Concept Development
I developed the concept iteratively through:
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Co-design: I conducted a co-design sessions where farmers walked through the rough user journey, revealing tensions between convenience and collective action.
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Iterative Prototyping: I used storyboarding, serious play, and lo-fi video prototyping to address these tensions and refine the service blueprint.
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Stakeholder Feedback: I got feedback on feasibility and backstage processes from experts using lo-fi prototypes.
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Evaluative prototyping: I refined user touchpoints and UI through Low and high-fidelity prototyping, considering farmers’ low technical confidence and testing emotional clarity to ensure the service felt approachable and empowering.
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Final Deliverable: I produced a hi-fi video prototype with Figma and Premiere Pro, to communicate the concept and its value to stakeholders, as part of a final presentation.
The Solution
Future Roots
Future Roots is a not-for-profit service for small U.K farmers, working as an on boarding to farming’s sustainable future. It meets farmers where they are, using collective action as an emotional hook and educational events to provide practical aid.
Partnering with agri-environmental organisations, it delivers a month-long campaign of collective environmental activities alongside practical learning sessions. Fostering unity, respects farming values, and provides a manageable first step toward sustainability suited to real-world constraints.
Two Core Elements:
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Collective Action: A free tree planting campaign with connective digital recording to see collective action of community.
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Educational Events: A practical route of relevant of flexible online and in person events over the month to build capability and confidence.
Alignment with the Four Design Principles
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Bolster, not Burden: Offers a tailored, schedule of local and online events, providing a low-commitment entry point that fits farmers’ busy lives and avoiding overwhelming choices.
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Positive, not Pressuring: Uses collective tree planting as an emotional hook, tapping into farmers’ connection to nature to encourage participation with pride, not guilt.
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United, not Isolated: Fosters peer support through a month-long campaign and collective tree-planting through a live map showing collective impact, turning sustainability into a shared journey.
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Identity-empowering, not Endangering: Partner with trusted agri-organisations to present sustainability in familiar terms, respecting farmers’ experience and helping them see sustainable practices as an extension of their role
Designed for growth: Conceived as an on boarding experience, the services aim is to help farmers eventually outgrow it, adapting as attitudes and needs change and sustainability is normalised as part of everyday farming.
(Consideration of long term service impacts and plans for the future, as shown in project presonataion and representation of collective tree planting action)
Outcome & Reflection
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Future Roots demonstrates how behavioural insight and co-design can unlock change in complex systems. By grounding the service in farmers’ lived experiences and emotional realities, the design supports meaningful, lasting transformation.
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This project strengthened my expertise in behavioural design, systems thinking, and strategic UX research skills I can apply to real-world challenges with confidence.
(UI prototype of event route selection with user quote examples)