I'm developing a visual catalog of orchids and would love to hear some thoughts
 

Hi all, :hello

I'm Huong Nguyen. I'm developing a visual catalog app, Lookuq Orchid, dedicated to orchids. The app has recently been ready for use (FREE ACCESS). The catalog includes 29.000 orchid species around the world. You can identify species via image or camera.

Though the data is still in compiling process, it would be great if you guys try it out and give me feedback for further improvement. Love to hear any comments or contribution!

Download for Android:
Lookuq Orchid - Apps on Google Play
Download for iOS:
Lookuq Orchid on the App Store

Hi Huong
I downloaded the Apple version of the ap and gave it a try. My trial is very limited as I don’t have any species orchids in flower. It did make reasonable matches with the only orchid currently in our house - an intergeneric cattleya, which it matched to several species that probably are the nearest in form. So on that very small sample it worked well.

However I have a couple of comments I hope you find useful.
1. The name of the ap appears to be LookUq . Are you aware this is an unpronounceable word to just about everyone. I think it is not a wise move to promote or market a product with an unpronounceable name.
2. When the ap opens, it opened to a home screen with about 60 or so orchid profiles. That is confusing. It isn’t clear how, if at all, I should interact with these images. I think good ap design would be to open to a screen that maybe welcomes the user and makes it clear how to move to the next step. The photos of orchids are detail, and should be accessible but not intrusive - there if you want to search for them. In fact it didn’t take long to understand how to use the ap, but it did leave a lingering feeling of uncertainty.

Cheers, and good luck with your project
Arron

I will download and play with this

Thanks Arron! You've got a point. We'll make change to the Home screen.

Regarding app name, it is actually a deliberate misspell of "Look-up", though I agree that it looks unpronounceable at first.

It is easy to pronounce - Lokuq or Le coq but that just reminds me of chickens instead of orchids.

Some species are quite distuinguishable but others I can't even tell apart so not sure how an App could possibly compete.
Can it tell the difference between a Phal Bellina alba and a Violacea alba for example?

Or how about identifying every single angraecum flower and all of their crosses.

Who puts all this info into the app? If it is based on pictures available online - they are labeled wrong a lot of times.

There are other apps like this in different realms (eg fish, insects, leaves) and the idea is not to make a singular indentification because logically, it can’t. The idea is to find visual matches and allow the user to make the final selection.