Tobondo: Service design for living abroad in Japan

Overview

Tobondo was the final project for my Service Design class at Chiba University. It’s a concept for a service that supports foreigners living in Japan to connect with others and build a community. Collaborators: Muhammad Ridhwan, Lee Yu Hsuan

Helping foreign residents integrate smoothly into life in Japan

It has been more difficult for foreign residents to integrate into Japan’s community since the resources and lifestyle has changed after the pandemic. The settlement problems and the decrease of social interactions in the community has affected foreigners’ life abroad.

Identifying key challenges to design a service for foreign residents

• We researched current trends and conducted ethnographic interviews with new and potential foreign residents to uncover key pain points and user needs.

• By analyzing over 570 minutes of interview data alongside our research, we identified critical insights that informed the design of a service tailored to support foreigners living in Japan.