Field notes from Osaka

I spent a week walking with a notebook instead of a camera. The useful pictures were already on the walls: wayfinding that assumes you arrived tired, hungry, and slightly lost.

What struck me was the calm of layered information. Primary routes in bold, secondary paths in a lighter weight, and almost no decoration competing for attention.

Back at the studio we borrowed that restraint for a product onboarding flow. Fewer illustrations. Clearer next steps. Users finished the first session faster.

Travel is research when you treat the street as a critique session you did not schedule.