FreedomTax Japan
— eTax Platform
Redesigning complex Japan/US tax filing flows for real human beings.
Japan's tax filing system involves deeply nested regulations, bilingual complexity (Japan/US cross-border filers), and high-stakes calculations — yet the product UI presented them as raw form fields with no contextual guidance. Users were confused, made errors, and flooded support with questions that clear design could have prevented.
Conducted scenario-based usability testing and structured surveys with users navigating live tax flows. Key findings:
- Users frequently misidentified which form applied to their situation.
- Bilingual label inconsistencies caused distrust in calculated values.
- Edge-case inputs (part-year residents, foreign income) had no inline guidance, forcing mid-flow abandonment.
Synthesized insights into prioritized pain point maps that became the design backlog.
Led end-to-end design across 30+ financial modules:
- Mapped user flows to surface decision points and branch logic in tax pathways.
- Created wireframes and high-fidelity Figma prototypes using progressive disclosure to hide complexity until needed.
- Wrote detailed user stories grounded in empathy to communicate design intent to engineering without ambiguity.
- Collaborated with compliance and engineering to ensure every prototype was technically buildable and regulation-accurate.
✅ 100% on-time releases
🐛 Zero critical defects
📉 Reduced user confusion
⚡ Faster engineering delivery