PlayFeel – UX Design & Research

Academic Workshop with for promoting collaborations aimed at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) between Japan and Brazil. Over 100 researchers from all over Brazil Joined

In early 2020, the University of Tsukuba faced a problem. We were grounded due to COVID-19, yet we had to continue to recruit prospective international students. In addition, there was a need to mobilize all different departments of universities. The Imagine the Future fair came as a novel study fair that integrated more than 40 university departments in order to pass information to students from all over the world. More than 4,000 students joined IFF.

How to conduct Study Fairs after the Pandemic? In 2022 we have developed the first Hybrid Study in Japan Fair in collaboration with Japan-House São Paulo. with More than 10 institutes coming from Japan, the one-day fair gathered more than 1300 attendees and 1600 online viewers from all over Brazil, breaking records for Japan House and Study in Japan.

Following the Japan House Brazil-Japan Academic Workshop, a new experience was created at Brazil for promoting cooperative activities. During the morning, over 20 institute presentations were made. They were followed by a matchmaking cocktail party event, where Brazilian and Japanese representatives rotated table to discuss their initiatives

The Covid-19 pandemic led to many challenges regarding international student recruitment. Amid a forced digitalization, there was also a fatigue for interactions through software such as Zoom. Through a complete Experience redesign, a unique digital fair was created, which had the participation of over 50 institutions from Japan, 50 students, educators, and influencers. The fair was a large success attracting international attention and raising the bar on student recruitment methods.

Camp Experience Workshop for International Students and Japanese Companies. The goal of this experience was for foreigners and Japanese to work together into revitalizing the image of Shiojiri City while promoting the well-being of its citizens and preserving their strong traditions. Our group worked by combining the two most recognized crafts of the city, Wine and Laquerware, into a unique product. We have also proposed a new  unified LacquerWine Making Festival for attracting new audiences while preserving tradition.  Looking forward to see how Shiojiri city will prosper.

Design of booths and concert area for promoting studying in Japan at Japanese Traditional and pop-culture festivals. In Japan festival we have went with a more traditional image of Japan, highlighting red and Mt. Fuji. At Anime friends festival we used a more contemporary pop image of Japan, highlight tones and blue and city-like urban elements

Logo Project initiated in 2020 and concluded in 2021 with partnership of the designer Agatha RJ. Each Study in Japan Regional Devision needed their own brand, with usually the Mt Fuji being used to represent so.

However, a different concept was found more appropriate for South America. The new logo is composed of rings, that connect Japan and South America on their common roots. Colors represent Japan, Brazil, and Mercosul, with the logo being adaptable according to the target region.

Like this logo, Study in Japan will support the connection of talented students with the Japan’s Top Institutions.

When Recruiting students, most schools in Japan rely on veteran staff and professores. However, our research pointed that young students do not feel confident to talk with experienced professors and may feel intimidated with recruiters.

The VTubers Capi and Paca came as a solution to this issue. with an anime-like figure, they represent a typical student in Japan, being easier and more fun to talk. With elements from Brazil and South America

Capi and Paca have been supporting study in Japan for the last three years, joining livestreams, interviews, and recently, with the help of technology, doing live consultations onsite!

Development of Website and Social Networks for Promoting Japan as a Study Destination. A complete website with a filterable school search database and functional blog was developed. The website has information of over 60 Higher education institutions and its still growing.

With presence in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, Study in Japan has developed over 1,000,000 posts about Scholarships, Student Experiences, Japan Life Guides, and Institution presentation.

Design of printable material to promote study in Japan. The materials range from Flyers, Institutional folders, Study in Japan Booklet Guides, and Higher Education Institution Catalogues.

Over 50,000 Prints were distributed throughout Latin America in the past 2 years.

Redesign of Maple Village School brand and Website to give a modern and playful sense for the school method of teaching English. The school bridges the culture of Canada and Japan, originating a brand with elements of both. The school took great inspiration in the four seasons for its visual identity.

The number of South American Students have been stagnated in Japan for the past 10 years. While the Covid-Pandemic Also affected the recruitment of Students for the years of 2020-2021, it opened a possibility to reevaluate the scenario.

By evaluating the experiences of students keen on studying in Japan, we formulated a comprehensive action plan. This strategy includes a heightened investment in digital media PR, personalized virtual study fairs, and specialized study-related content. This approach has enabled us to connect with new audiences, thereby influencing current student enrollment and setting the stage for sustained growth in the years ahead.

Child-Dedicated scale for reporting emotions and evaluating the feelings of peers. The AIS evaluates how well a participant can evaluate the feelings of others (Accuracy) and how synchronized group members are with themselves (Affective Synchrony – AS) in three dimensions:
Happiness (Joy), Energy (Arousal), and Participation (Dominance).
Winner of the Kids Design Award.

Case study research about the integration of design and of users in the New Product Development (NPD) process of Brazilian toy companies. The research highlighted that designers are not usually included in the initial stages of product conceptualization, prejudicing the development of novel concepts. Furthermore, infant users were also often disregarded in the design process.

Discussion about developing new design guidelines for children based on three promoted play experiences. How to develop toys/games that promote interactions between children?

3-year Ph.D. research about the effects of group games on children’s impressions and, consequently, on their dispositions to cooperate. Results showed that children understand each other’s feelings better when playing group games, and that might be a strong factor for increasing their cooperation.

Literature Review and theoretical discussion about the venture of designers in the business / management fields, generating innovative approaches and tools like the Business Model Canvas (BMC).