Where research, systems thinking, and visual design come together.
Most village websites are built to satisfy a government checklist. This one was built for the people who live there — residents who need real information, and UMKM owners who deserve real visibility.
LOCATION
Kec. Legok, Kab. Tangerang
METHOD
Human Centered Design
POPULATION
8,100+ residents (2024)
TOOLS
Figma, Framer
Published — Peer Reviewed Journal
JUAN: Jurnal Ultima Abdimas Nusantara, Vol. 1 No. 1 — DOI: 10.31937/juan.v1i1.3606
THE CONTEXT
Indonesia's desa digital program requires every village to have a website. In practice, most exist to satisfy a checklist — not to serve residents.
Desa Kemuning Legok had real potential: active UMKM businesses, local tourism, and a community with things worth sharing. Before this project, residents seeking village information had two options — visit the kantor desa in person, or ask someone who might know. UMKM owners had no digital presence beyond personal social media.
Village information
Village funds, structure, news, programs — hard to find without visiting.
UMKM visibility
Local businesses with no way to reach buyers outside the village.
Tourism potential
Untapped — no digital presence to attract visitors
Two very different groups. One shared need: don't make them work for it.
Village residents
Need village funds info, news, community programs. Previously: visit the office, or rely on word of mouth. Neither worked well.
Needs: plain language · fast to find · mobile-friendly
UMKM owners
Real products, real potential — but no reach beyond personal Instagram. The website was their first chance at visibility outside the village.
Needs: product photos · descriptions · contact info
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Information before navigation
The homepage surfaces what residents need most — news, structure, services — without requiring them to navigate a menu first. Most important content, immediately visible.
Plain language, not government language
Every section was written to be understood by a general resident, not a civil servant. The APBN budget section especially — budget transparency is required, but it must actually mean something to the people reading it.
The UMKM page as a product, not an afterthought
A list of business names tells you something exists. A showcase makes you want to buy it. The UMKM page was designed as a proper product display — with photos, descriptions, and contact details — because for those owners, visibility was the whole point.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Typical village websites organize by department. This one organizes by what residents actually come for.
Typical village website
Village profile
Structure
Administration
Financial
Kemuning Legok redesign
Village Information & News
Administration Form
Village Funds Report
UMKM
User Testing
90%
positive satisfaction rating
100 respondents · Kemuning Legok residents
Tested with 100 respondents from Desa Kemuning and the surrounding community. The two things cited most: how quickly they found the information they needed, and how well the UMKM page represented local businesses.
Information was findable quickly without needing to navigate deeply
UMKM showcase made products feel worth considering — not just listed
10% wanted more — more frequent updates, more UMKM listings. A content challenge, not a design failure.
Final Design
REFLECTION
Deciding what to say, how to say it, and in what order — because communication is also a design problem.
Designing for a village of 8,100 people with varied digital literacy forced me to challenge assumptions I didn't realize I had. My instinct as a designer was to reach for familiar UI patterns — the kind that feel natural to someone who uses apps every day. Many residents of Desa Kemuning don't.
This project was also the first time my work went through formal peer review and was published in an academic journal. That process — having to articulate and defend every design decision to external reviewers — made me more precise about why I make the choices I make, not just what they are.
