12 March 2007
Designing for a Global Audience
The focus on this panel was on understanding how creating sites for multiple cultures impact web design. The first topic was localization. Most people think of this as getting the text translated, but it is much more. The process should include thinking through the experience from a specific point of view, and then make the appropriate changes. An example of doing this correctly was Nokia cell phones, which have the interface for cell phones aligned to specific countries, both in language and in presentation.
For marketing, having standards are important, but may not meet or align with cultural expectations. The Honda Civic is a 'starter' car in the US, but is an upscale car in India - how do you market that across cultures in both countries? The question to be asked when starting a project is, what is the user expectation per culture we will be entering? Take a look at each separately, and then identify the common elements and determine the important differences and design appropriately.
When creating for a global audience, it is strongly recommended to have a design team that is local to the culture you are marketing to, including researches and writers. However, you need to establish a communication plan that all teams need to follow, addressing the global objectives . This is what all work will be reviewed against to keep each team in alignment with the project goal.
Finally, the question to answer when working across cultures is: Do you care about the audience/culture which you are designing for? The answer to this will be seen in the final product.
For marketing, having standards are important, but may not meet or align with cultural expectations. The Honda Civic is a 'starter' car in the US, but is an upscale car in India - how do you market that across cultures in both countries? The question to be asked when starting a project is, what is the user expectation per culture we will be entering? Take a look at each separately, and then identify the common elements and determine the important differences and design appropriately.
When creating for a global audience, it is strongly recommended to have a design team that is local to the culture you are marketing to, including researches and writers. However, you need to establish a communication plan that all teams need to follow, addressing the global objectives . This is what all work will be reviewed against to keep each team in alignment with the project goal.
Finally, the question to answer when working across cultures is: Do you care about the audience/culture which you are designing for? The answer to this will be seen in the final product.
Labels: context, design, global, sxsw, translation
¶ 9:00 PM
