2024
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Canada Seikatsu Jiten
Canada Seikatsu Jiten
A navigation site that answers ‘Where Should I Start?’ for studying in Canada
Category
Content Design / Newcomer Support
Role
UI/UX Designer
Overview
Transforming social content into a searchable knowledge base Led the Information Architecture and UI/UX design to transition a popular Instagram media outlet (8,000+ followers) into a dedicated web platform. Focused on restructuring a vast archive of social media posts into an organized, user-centric database for Japanese expats in Canada.
Contribution
Information Architecture
Wirefaming
UI Design
Team
Web Director
UI/UX Designer (Me)
Engineer
Contents Creator
Timeline
8 weeks
The Challenge
Escaping "Information Overload"
As the number of Instagram posts increased, valuable information became buried, making it difficult for users to find what they needed quickly. The challenge was to build a website that allows for multi-faceted searches while accurately conveying the founder's vision.
Insights & Analysis
Identifying User Needs for Comprehensiveness
Analysis of the Instagram account and interviews with the founder revealed a strong demand for organized, comprehensive information and a desire to communicate the message that "Life abroad is a bonus stage".
Design Concept
"Life Abroad as a Bonus Stage"
Adopted a retro pixel-art style to express the excitement of living in a new country, balancing playfulness with practical utility and reliability.
Information Architecture
Multi-Channel Navigation Optimized for Mobile
To prevent users from getting lost in the extensive life-guide content, I designed a navigation system allowing access via multiple entry points: by "Purpose," "Category," or "Popularity." Given that most users access the site via mobile, I focused on adjusting content density for comfortable vertical scrolling and improving visibility using a card-based layout.
Final Design
Balancing Playfulness and Trust
Based the UI on the retro pixel-art world-view while ensuring ample white space for readability. Refined the Instagram color palette and typography for web accessibility.
Results
Elevating the Media Experience to the Web
The launch enabled multi-faceted searches that were impossible on Instagram. The design successfully communicated the brand's world-view and vision, contributing to improved user engagement.
