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Wijhah

Turning a huge, unfamiliar Expo into a route you can follow

Expo 2030 Riyadh will be a large, unfamiliar site with many pavilions and limited time. Wijhah turns a visitor’s interests, companions, pace and entry gate into an ordered route, and lets them change the rest of the day without losing what they’ve visited.

Expo 2030 challenge entry

Plan ready: why this plan, starting gate, planned breaks and ordered stops
My role
UX/UI designer on the Wijhah team
Project type
Expo 2030 Riyadh Challenge · Track 1: Smart Visitor Experience
Team
Team project
Timeline
2026
Method
Requirements-based UX → hi-fi UI & developer handoff
Tools
Figma

  • 4

    short planning steps before the route

  • 22

    UX gaps & edge cases prioritised

  • 12

    open questions documented for stakeholders

  • 2

    languages and themes (AR/EN · light/dark)

The challenge

The site is large and the choices are many. Visitors need to turn their interests and the limits of their day (time, companions, energy, entry gate) into an order of pavilions they can follow and change.

My contribution

As a UX/UI designer on the team, I worked from the challenge requirements to a structured UX study (scope, information architecture, user flows, edge cases and accessibility guidance), then to high-fidelity screens in light and dark mode with developer notes.

Key insights

The study drew on the challenge requirements and accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2, Apple HIG, Material 3).

  • Four needs, one journey

    Plan with little effort, know the next stop, change the rest of the day without losing progress, and keep a record of visits.

  • Trust depends on what stays fixed

    If an update could change stops already visited, the plan would stop feeling reliable.

  • Outdoors, walking, one hand

    Sunlight and crowds make contrast, large targets and actions in the bottom third of the screen essential.

Key decisions

  1. 01Visited stops stay fixed

    User need
    Plans change during the day, but visitors shouldn’t lose what they’ve done.
    Design response
    Edits and updates only touch the remaining stops, reordered from the last pavilion visited.
    Why it matters
    Visitors can adapt freely because nothing they’ve done is lost.

  2. 02Never rely on colour alone

    User need
    The requirements marked visited stops by colour only, which is hard to read in sunlight or with colour-vision deficiency.
    Design response
    Each state has an icon, text and colour; the map has a list alternative; drag-to-reorder has move buttons.
    Why it matters
    The plan stays usable outdoors, for screen-reader users and for people with limited motor control.

  3. 03Clear states in plain language

    User need
    If personalisation fails or a pavilion has no ratings, the interface shouldn’t mislead.
    Design response
    A fallback is labelled “General route” with a reason and a retry, and unrated pavilions show “No ratings yet” instead of 0.
    Why it matters
    Visitors keep trusting the plan because it always tells them what’s happening.

Plan the day, then adapt it

From four planning questions to a ready route, a plan update and the accessibility version.

Planning step 1 of 4: ‘Who is coming?’ with solo and group options
1 / 8
Step 1 of 4: who’s coming. The answer shapes pace, breaks and suggestions.

An animated walkthrough of the Figma screens, not a working prototype. Use the controls to pause or step through.

Look closer — select a screen to enlarge it

  • Step 1 of 4: who’s coming. The answer shapes pace, breaks and suggestions.
  • Pick at least three interests. The counter explains why you can’t continue yet.
  • Review before generating: every answer can be edited, and the gate choice is explained.
  • While the plan is generated, plain language explains what’s happening instead of a fake percentage.
  • Plan ready: why this plan, the starting gate, prayer and lunch breaks, then stops in order.
  • Update the rest: visited stops stay fixed and are marked with an icon and text, not colour alone.
  • Explore by accessibility needs: each partly accessible pavilion spells out its limitation.
  • With accessibility needs, the plan confirms a step-free route and flags stops that need attention.

Outcome

  • A full UX study, user flows and hi-fi screens for sign-up, discovery, planning (including accessibility needs) and editing, with developer notes.
  • A light and dark design system, plus Arabic and English guidance with a shared glossary.

Next project

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