KonradAI - Visa application helper
joint university project / 3 semester

This project aimed to redesign the German Federal Foreign Office’s RKS Appointment platform, focusing on streamlining the visa application scheduling process for international users. The existing system suffered from fragmented navigation, cluttered information architecture, and inefficient appointment management, creating undue stress for applicants navigating complex bureaucratic requirements.

Key Challenges
The platform’s primary issues centered on three areas: information overload, rigid scheduling limitations, and inconsistent navigation.
Critical visa details were buried in dense, unstructured text blocks without mobile optimization, while the four-week booking window and lack of automated notifications led to frequent appointment shortages. Users faced a labyrinth of redundant redirects, inconsistent menu layouts, and no “back” function, exacerbating frustration during an already high-stakes processes.

By narrowing the scope to national visas (Schengen visas remained externally managed), the project focused on untangling information hierarchies and embedding real-time updates. Prototyping emphasized progressive disclosure—surfacing key requirements through interactive checklists and tooltips—while a reimagined appointment system introduced dynamic slot releases and status tracking to reduce uncertainty.

Refined User Journey
The revamped flow begins with users landing on a visually streamlined embassy website, where document checklists and process timelines are immediately accessible. During appointment booking, auto-save functionality and live calendar updates prevent data loss and slot conflicts. Post-submission, applicants receive clear confirmations with expected wait times, reducing the need for repetitive follow-ups. By integrating error prevention and status transparency, the design minimizes redundancies and empowers users to navigate the process with confidence.

The redesign prioritized clarity and accessibility, asking: How might intuitive visual cues and contextual aids guide users through each step? How can we simplify a process complicated by opaque internal workflows?

Outcome
The solution (Chrome extension) balances bureaucratic necessities with human-centered interactions, transforming a fragmented system into a cohesive, stress-reduced experience. It demonstrates how strategic information design and system transparency can alleviate pain points in even the most rigid institutional frameworks.

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