Improving Setouchi City's Discoverability for Overseas Travelers

Visit the live site

Role

Research, wire framing, UX design, UI design, content writing, prototyping, Framer development, usability testing

Timeline

3 months; throughout 2025

Team

Myself + one member from Setouchi City Hall

Final Design Hero Carousel: Carousel with catchy copywriting, quality images, and CTAs to attract the attention and actions of potential visitors

Overview

Setouchi's online presence must be reborn

Brief:

Setouchi City's only English tourism website went offline after the original team disbanded in 2020, leaving international visitors unable to discover this off-the-beaten-path destination. In 2025, the Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) approached me to redesign, rebuild and relaunch it.

Challenge:

International visitors lost access to Setouchi City's only English tourism resource when the website went offline in 2020. I was tasked with designing and building a new site that would reconnect the city with overseas travelers looking to spend time in the Japanese countryside. The site had to be built without an engineer and have the ability for non-technical staff to maintain the site in the future.

Impact:

I designed and built Setouchi's first fully comprehensive English tourism website, reducing information gaps for future visitors due to language barriers and poor visual design structure seen in many Japanese town/city tourism websites. The new site encourages visitors to experience a 'new side' of Japan, and puts Setouchi City back on the map for tourism.

Brief:

Challenge:

Impact:

Brief:

Challenge:

Impact:

Setouchi City's English tourism website went offline in 2020, leaving international visitors unable to discover the destination

Designed and built the new website that serves Western travelers' needs while being maintainable by non-technical local staff (built with Framer)

Delivered the city's first reliable English resource in 5 years, improving discoverability for overseas visitors

Click for the TL;DR

Setouchi City's English tourism website went offline in 2020, leaving international visitors unable to discover the destination

Designed and built the new website that serves Western travelers' needs while being maintainable by non-technical local staff (built with Framer)

Delivered the city's first reliable English resource in 5 years, improving discoverability for overseas visitors

Click for the TL;DR

Setouchi City's English tourism website went offline in 2020, leaving international visitors unable to discover the destination

Designed and built the new website that serves Western travelers' needs while being maintainable by non-technical local staff (built with Framer)

Delivered the city's first reliable English resource in 5 years, improving discoverability for overseas visitors

Click for the TL;DR

Key Insights

2 pain points from article research

Language gaps = no discovery or trust

Rural areas still lack consistent multilingual resources in the digital space. Even with machine translations (when offered), the information is often incomplete or inaccurate.

Poor info. design = missed experiences

Tourists often miss out on local events, workshops, etc, because essential details (time, location, how to join) are difficult to locate in the website.

4 qualities of strong tourism websites

Distinct identity

Use good quality images and tailored copywriting to give the location a strong identity

Where & when

Clear information on what the area will be like depending on the time of year you visit, in addition to interactive maps

Local involvement

Highlight upcoming and yearly events with ample descriptions, appealing to overseas visitors

Skim & scan

All important information is quick and easy to navigate to on the website. Users aren't overloaded with walls of text

Ideation

Homepage as the foundation

Through brainstorming, sketching and implementing AIDA principles, I decided to focus on the homepage's direction as it would lead the website's overall design, content structure, and flow. I concluded it would highlight:

Top 5 Activities: Quick suggestions to reduce thinking time
6 Categories: Encourages exploration based on users' interests
Interactive Map: Orients users and gives information on the 3 distinct regions
Seasonal Recommendations: Insights to local seasonal activities (based on current season)
Local Events: Shows when and how users can connect with the locals
Peek at Stays: Invites one to spend more time in Setouchi

AIDA led me to highlight the 3 unique regions of the city, top things to do, experience categories, and events

I identified what action I wanted users to take in each section of the homepage, and how those actions would lead them to other areas of the website

I concluded that the top navigation categories for the website would be: regions, stays, experiences, food, and trip planning (later, a new section introducing custom swords was added per the client's request)

By analyzing content from the old website I decided that some content could be reused for the new site: regional information, food, and itineraries

Final Design

Designing & building the website - no code

The new website had to close language gaps while avoiding information overload. I designed sections that showcase Setouchi's distinct identity, local involvement opportunities, and clear timing/location information—directly addressing the pain points identified in research.

The website was fully designed and built in Framer, with no code (only low-fidelity wireframes were created in Figma first). This exciting design challenge allowed me to immediately test the site and publish quickly.

Visit the live site

Interactive Region Map: Clicking each region reveals its unique identity: Osafune's legendary sword-making, Oku's art and tranquility, Ushimado's coastal charm. The map provides context before users dive into detailed pages.

Interactive Region Map:

Clicking each region reveals its unique identity: Osafune's legendary sword-making, Oku's art and tranquility, Ushimado's coastal charm. The map provides context before users dive into detailed pages.

Top 5: This addresses the research finding that travelers feel overwhelmed by too many options. Five activities were chosen to reduce decision paralysis while showcasing Setouchi's identity (samurai heritage, coastal nature, traditional crafts, etc). Users can effortlessly grasp what makes the city special before diving into the categories below.

Top 5:

This addresses the research finding that travelers feel overwhelmed by too many options. Five activities were chosen to reduce decision paralysis while showcasing Setouchi's identity (samurai heritage, coastal nature, traditional crafts, etc). Users can effortlessly grasp what makes the city special before diving into the categories below.

Categories: This solves the poor information design problem identified in research. Users can explore by personal interest—Art, Cuisine, Events, Nature, Hands-on Activities, History. This reflects how travelers actually plan trips as they ask themselves, "What can I DO here?"

Categories:

This solves the poor information design problem identified in research. Users can explore by personal interest—Art, Cuisine, Events, Nature, Hands-on Activities, History. This reflects how travelers actually plan trips as they ask themselves, "What can I DO here?"

Featured Event: This helps solve the 'missed experiences' problem identified in research. One event is prominently featured with clear timing, location, and official event links. The featured spot rotates monthly, creating a sense of newness for repeat visitors and encourages new ones to connect with the local community.

Featured Event:

This helps solve the 'missed experiences' problem identified in research. One event is prominently featured with clear timing, location, and official event links. The featured spot rotates monthly, creating a sense of newness for repeat visitors and encourages new ones to connect with the local community.

User Testing Insights

"If I go here, I feel like I can experience things I never have before."

They were unsure of how to exit and return to the previous screen

80%

of users had difficulties navigating overlays

They were unsure of how to exit and return to the previous screen

80%

of users had difficulties navigating overlays

They were unsure of how to exit and return to the previous screen

80%

of users had difficulties navigating overlays

when exploring the "city area" pages, they weren't sure where in Setouchi they were

60%

of users were geographically lost

when exploring the "city area" pages, they weren't sure where in Setouchi they were

60%

of users were geographically lost

when exploring the "city area" pages, they weren't sure where in Setouchi they were

60%

of users were geographically lost

they would have liked more details and direct contact with someone to help plan their trip

60%

of users wanted more clarity on trip planning

they would have liked more details and direct contact with someone to help plan their trip

60%

of users wanted more clarity on trip planning

they would have liked more details and direct contact with someone to help plan their trip

60%

of users wanted more clarity on trip planning

The eye-catching images and layout intrigued users to visit in the near future

80%

of users were drawn to the images & layout

The eye-catching images and layout intrigued users to visit in the near future

80%

of users were drawn to the images & layout

The eye-catching images and layout intrigued users to visit in the near future

80%

of users were drawn to the images & layout

knowing that they could interact and partake in local activities with the community made them want to visit

100%

of users were attracted to local participation

knowing that they could interact and partake in local activities with the community made them want to visit

100%

of users were attracted to local participation

knowing that they could interact and partake in local activities with the community made them want to visit

100%

of users were attracted to local participation

after using the website, they fully understood what Setouchi offers and what makes it unique

100%

of users could easily describe the city's identity

after using the website, they fully understood what Setouchi offers and what makes it unique

100%

of users could easily describe the city's identity

after using the website, they fully understood what Setouchi offers and what makes it unique

100%

of users could easily describe the city's identity

Learnings

Navigating constraints & taking on multiple roles

Designed effectively within no-code constraints. Some of the interactive feature limitations taught me that reducing complexity can enhance user value.

Developed communication skills with non-technical government stakeholders. I framed decisions using outcome-focused language like 'faster trip planning' instead of design jargon.

Government projects can move slowly, so getting access to archives and permissions pushes the timeline. I worked around this block by focusing on other tasks and flexibly adjusting the deadline.

Adapted and strategically pivoted when the client presented a last-minute request: a new page featuring custom swords for which people can place orders.