Mori Puzzle — Case Study

01

Problem Statement & User Research

Kanji is one of the biggest hurdles in learning Japanese. I surveyed and interviewed 25 people interested in studying the language to find out where — and why — they give up.

Three barriers

Complex Shapes
2,000+ Essential Characters
Overwhelming visual complexity deters beginners before they even start.
Massive Volume
106 Hiragana/Katakana vs 2,000 Kanji
Traditional rote memorization creates an unsustainable cognitive load.
Loss of Motivation
High Drop-off Rate
“Once hobby learning turns into mandatory practice, the brain resists.”

“It was fun at the beginning as a hobby, but once it turns into practice, my brain tries to forget about it.”

Research participant

Research demographic & results

Research demographic of 25 participants — Who took part: gender, age, occupation, reading level, study methods and motivation.

Research results: study frequency and study tools — How often participants study kanji, and what works or fails in the tools they use.

Two kinds of learners

With a specific goal

Use several study tools at once — then lose motivation once the goal is reached.

Without a goal

Rely on apps, but find it hard to stay consistent without something pulling them back.

Personas

Lin — nerdy hipster, not yet committed. Profile and empathy map.

02

Solution & Linguistic Concept

About 80% of kanji are combinations of a small set of fundamental elements. Learn that core set — roughly 20% — and the rest becomes a puzzle you already have the pieces for.

Kanji breakdown: 80% combinations of basic kanji, 20% basic kanji — 80% of kanji combine basic kanji (KEISEI + KAII); 20% are basic kanji made from pictures or symbols.

SHIJI 5%, SHOKEI 15%, KEISEI 60% and KAII 20%, with examples — The four kanji types — SHIJI, SHOKEI, KEISEI and KAII — with examples.

The 80/20 radical rule, as a puzzle

Instead of drilling each character by rote, the game asks players to combine parts into kanji. Every solved puzzle teaches structure, so the next unfamiliar character already looks half-known.

日sun

月moon

明bright

日 sun + 月 moon → 明 bright·Pictograph · SHOKEI

Squares are parts, circles are kanji — the same shape language used in the app’s Library.

Why “Mori”

森 (mori) means forest — three trees, 木, grown into one character. It is the product idea in a single kanji: small pieces build on each other until they form something larger.

03

Competitive Heuristic Evaluation

I evaluated four apps against Nielsen Norman Group’s 10 usability heuristics, plus three criteria specific to the problem: Learning, Motivation and Interactivity.

Kanji learning vs word puzzle apps, rated on content and usability criteria.

Opportunity

Pair a clean, game-like interface with genuine learning features, and borrow Anagram’s asynchronous battles for relaxed competition between friends.

04

User Flow & System Architecture

Each persona enters Mori through a different door. Single Play, VS Play and the Library form the three pillars, connected so that play and study feed each other.

Enjoy-use: Single Play and VS Play.

05

Style & UI System

Logo木 means tree, 林 woods, and 森 forest (mori). The character shows progress visually — the same idea as the app — so 森 became its symbol.

Mori style guide: Typography — TypographyKyokasho is the textbook typeface, with a simple, steady stroke that sits well beside sans-serif Latin. Roboto works across platforms, and its wide face shares kanji’s proportions.

Mori style guide: Color — ColorForest green comes from “Mori.” Like traditional Japanese palettes made from natural pigments, the tones are muted. As trees grow into a forest, kanji grow from their parts.

Mori style guide: Pattern — PatternTraditional Japanese Kamon patterns. Backgrounds grow more granular inside content areas to express hierarchy.

Mori style guide: Icons — IconsKanji are grouped by radical; size and shape express hierarchy. The “New” badge borrows the rising sun — Japan as the land of the rising sun.

Mori style guide: Buttons — ButtonsGolden Sand, the opposite of the Forest theme, marks the primary action; Sprout marks the secondary action.

06

Interactive Prototype

Watch Regular Play and VS Play in motion, or click through the live Figma prototype.

Regular Play: combining parts into kanji, scoring, and browsing the Library — Regular PlayBuild kanji from parts against the clock, then review them in the Library.

VS Play: inviting a friend through iMessage and playing a round — VS PlayChallenge a friend over iMessage and compare scores.