KANSAI-I
OVERVIEW
Kansai-i is a paperless travel itinerary featuring recommended places to visit in the Kansai region of Japan. It covers popular cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Uji, with a focus on hidden cultural gems and natural attractions.
Designed for mobile use, this itinerary helps you travel hassle-free with convenient links to Google Maps and
transportation options.
Tools: Figma, Framer
Web Design
THE PrOBLEM
The initial problem that inspired me to design Kansai-i emerged while planning a trip to Japan’s Kansai region. My mother asked me to print out an itinerary, but I realized how inconvenient it would be to rely on paper while navigating trains and buses. This led me to the idea of creating a web-based itinerary with clickable links that open directly in Google Maps, making it easy to access on a mobile phone.
01 INITIAL DESIGN
For the initial design, I experimented with graphic elements inspired by Japanese iconography, incorporating geometric shapes and symmetry. The design also prioritises navigation by highlighting transportation details in a green box. Locations are labeled in both Japanese and English to help users recognise Kanji characters on signage, and photos of each destination are included for easy identification.
02 Iteration
The second iteration addressed issues that emerged during usability testing. My family members found the design too cluttered with graphic elements, making it difficult to distinguish sections and understand the order of destinations. They also mentioned that the photos were too small to see clearly. In response, I refined the layout to improve visual hierarchy and experimented with a single-page design featuring a scroll section for easy navigation between days, replacing the original multi-page format.
03 THE DESIGN
The final iteration addressed issues that emerged with the single-page design, where scrolling to the correct day in the itinerary was still time-consuming and confusing, even with a locked scroll. This version reverted to a multi-page design with a refined layout, placing less emphasis on transportation navigation. Since the website includes Google Maps links, the main navigation will occur within Google Maps rather than the Kansai-i website. This shift allows the website to focus on presenting the itinerary and providing a clear overview of each day’s plans.
Link: kansai-i.framer.website
REFLECTION
For future improvements, I plan to make this website fully responsive, including desktop and iPad views while maintaining the mobile version to ensure accessibility for users researching their Japan itinerary across different devices.
