Mobile IxD

When creating products for a global market, important cultural differences and sensitivities must be accounted for if your product is to be successful – or, in some cases, even allowed to be sold. There may even be more than one culture with needs to be addressed even within a single country.

Some cultures may find the design (e.g., color) or behavior (e.g., triggering an audible cue) of a feature included in your product to be rude even if acceptable in the culture it came from. Similarly, without an understanding of the target culture, features may be included that are never used or do not adequately support the preferred method or mode of use.

Be diligent in your research when creating a trendy design because cultural icons (people) and heroes, idioms, colloquialisms, puns, and “cute” objects and text do not translate well between cultures and may not even be understood by all within any one culture
Account for cultural aspects such as levels of formality between different parts of society, masculinity vs. femininity, comfort level with uncertainty, individual vs. group achievement, and the need to achieve immediately vs. in the long-term
Icons and the metaphors they represent are not always universal. For example, representing the state of having unread mail with a mailbox with a flag up does not translate well outside of the United States. Rather, a variation of an envelope ought to be used
Use cultural-neutral colors as much as possible. When not possible, ensure that the meaning of the colors used is appropriate for each culture

This section includes recommendations from the expansive and detailed guidance on these topics and more provided in “Usability and Internationalization of Information Technology” by Naykin.

dave@mobileixd.com