{"id":2168,"date":"2022-02-25T16:15:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T19:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stillmantranslations.com\/?p=2168"},"modified":"2022-02-25T16:23:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T19:23:14","slug":"the-cultural-nuances-in-app-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stillmantranslations.com\/fr\/the-cultural-nuances-in-app-design\/","title":{"rendered":"The cultural nuances in app design"},"content":{"rendered":"

To what extent is culture important in something as technical as developing digital platforms?   <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Digital products are in the heart of most modern industries. Nowadays, any end to end strategy includes a digital strategy. If not 100% digital. And hence, many times its international, since nothing is really<\/em> stopping you from entering neighboring markets. But<\/strong>, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy peasy copy pasting content and design. It seems like something given and natural to do. But when it comes to software and online platforms, localizing content is a must. And there\u2019s more than meets the eye.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what you should contemplate when scaling your app into different markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"App
Photo by Brett Jordan<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The technical aspect  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you localize your applications for foreign markets, it\u2019s not just words we\u2019re talking about. Localizing means text, space allocated to text, design elements, legal terms and conditions, currencies, images, audio recordings to re-tape, space.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let\u2019s turn to the east for some guidance. There are currently more than 2.7 billion <\/a>mobile users in the Asia-Pacific region, and they were expected to download at least 200 million apps in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the technical step by step?  <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
  1. Be prepared to adapt the design. Words in different languages occupy different amounts of space on the screen. Between 10% less or up to 30% more. So contact a language expert previously to create a layout that is ready to be escalated without major inconveniences. And not only because of the number of words, but legibility. For example, Arabic fonts have much wider and shorter characters. Therefore they need to be at least 4 points larger than the Latin type to be legible. Some scripts can’t support bold or italics for the same reason. <\/li>
  2. Contemplate right-to-left languages. If regions, where Hebrew or Arabic are spoken, are of interest to you, you must do. It can drastically affect app interface design and great language professionals are required to avoid mumbo jumbo invented words like the ones presented by not Arabic<\/a>.  <\/li>
  3. Optimize for the App Store. This means localized versions of metadata, content, and visuals. <\/li>
  4. Remember to switch measures, time, and date according to which region you\u2019re targeting. Displaying time can change from culture to culture. The USA makes use of am\/pm whilst Europe prefers 24 hours clocks. <\/li>
  5. Icons & symbols may vary. They can have different meanings in alternate cultures since they are no more than a metaphor for something in the physical world. Thumbs up tends to be an \u201cOK\u201d or \u201cWell done\u201d metaphor. But in Russia, it\u2019s more similar to a middle finger situation. <\/li>
  6. Keyboard usage definitely varies. QWERTY is the most common one, followed by AZERTY and QWERTZ. But In countries like China, keyboard layouts are complemented by characters that are based on pronunciation. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    There is, of course, more. But this is a good start.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The culturally sensitive aspect  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s pinpoint this aspect with the eBay case<\/a>. By 1999, eBay had become America\u2019s leading auction site and was expanding into new global markets. Due to its success, it was decided they would give Japan a try. So they translated their web to Japanese and went for it. Three years later they were out of the competition. Forced to exit the market due to local competitors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But they didn\u2019t just lose to a well-established brand. The true problem was the only adaptation they made was a literal translation. No cultural adjustment between the US-based website and the new one. No thorough market research. For instance, providing credit card information online was not as common in other countries as it was in the US. So the abandonment rate peaked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    UX leaders point out that it is no longer enough to simply offer a product translated into ten to twenty different languages. Users also want a product that acknowledges their unique cultural characteristics and business practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So remember to involve experts. Language experts. They can understand context, linguistic nuances, and cultural peculiarities. Design patterns conceived as universal may oddly turn out not to be. For instance, when Mozilla Firefox created localized landing pages, it made the American site minimal and clean. But the Chinese version was filled with banners, news, extras, in all available space. Or, for example, Mozilla\u2019s design strategist, Bram Pitoyo, explained that \u201ctyping Chinese takes a long time and finding the precise word isn\u2019t easy. Search sucks, so optimize for browsing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The dialects and copy-pasting effect aspect  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    What\u2019s the difference between translation and localization?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Translation means that language changes depending on the target audience. The only variation between sites is language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Localization refers to making the product culturally relevant to the target audience. Content strategy can be totally different. And cultural and language nuances come to play.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Depending on the context, the same word may have different meanings. Americans say \u201ccandy,\u201d the British say \u201csweets,\u201d and Aussies go for \u201clollies.\u201d And adapting these terms really makes a difference because the user will feel appealed by something so familiar.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, it will avoid misunderstandings. Take Monthly<\/a>. It provides short-term accommodation in global markets and, in each part of the world, it uses a unique term for its service: \u201cmonthly accommodations\u201d in some. \u201cFurnished apartment,\u201d in others, \u201ctemporary housing,\u201d \u201cvacation rental\u201d or \u201caparthotel\u201d. SEO changes from place to place and terms used to find a precise service do too. And so should you.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And it\u2019s not only words: H&M\u2019s Chinese and American versions are similar. However, you\u2019ll spot Lunar New Year Sales and used Asian models in the first, and a special collection with local models in the second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Just how much work you should put into localizing depends on factors such as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n