Who am I?• Puerto Rican - exactly why Dr. Moshell gave this topic.• Does web design differ in different countries?
Design knows no regional boundaries
• Globalization needed to be most efficient – the web is a global business.
• Leads to questions of localization or standardizing design.• Studies show that users do notice a difference in countries
designs.• Visual appealing• Usability• Western standards are more welcomed
Design as a language• Form of art.• Design is a reflection of culture.• Emotions, romance, politics, etc. are all
conveyed.
Color & Culture• Color for animals is camouflage.• You’re designing for your audience, different colors/symbols
have different meanings.
who?
Color & Culture• Huge role in emotional connections, we see the world
differently.• For example: • White is the color of mourning & death in China• Purple is the color of death in Brazil• Yellow is sacred to the Hindus, but is sadness to Greeks and
jealousy to the French• Who is your audience?• Who will view your site/designs?
Culturally-Flexible Website Design• Websites are still the “same”, just in a different language.• Follow current design trends
• Think “international” from the beginning, even if you’re designing for an English-speaking country.
• Localization – designing for the region.• Know your target market!
Where to start?• Unicode:• Computing industry
standard, promotes consistent representation of text.• UTF-8
• Culture:• Affects the way we see
the physical world, as well as meanings.
• Culture (cont.)• Design uses real-world
references• Shopping carts,
buttons, menus, etc.• Consider what visual
representations you are using.
• RESEARCH
Technology?• High-speed internet is the norm here, but what about
undeveloped countries?• Some (parts of South America, Africa, & Asia) are still waiting
for high speed.• Text-only version of your site is an option.
Flexible Web Design - Language
• Written language plays a role.• German words are
generally longer than the English equivalent, what do we do as designers?
• Separation of design & content.• Avoid fixed width
structures with text inside.• Go = gehen (german)• CSS
Conclusion• With all the factors considered, good design will always be
good design.• Regardless of language barriers• Factor in your audience when designing & always keep them in
mind
CitationsArandilla, Rachel . "Graphic Design Examples Worldwide: How Nationality Reflects In Artworks." 2011
2011: n. page. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/worldwide- graphic-design/>.
Arno, Christian . "How Web Designers Can Adopt a Global Mindset." (2010): n. page. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/how-web-designers-can-adopt-a-global- mindset/>.
Mountassir, Yassine. "Localization of design: the effects of country specific graphical web design elements on the evaluation of homepages." . N.p., n.d. Web. <http://essay.utwente.nl/ 62214/>.
"Color Meaning in Different Countries: Does It Matter for Website Localization?." (2013): n. page. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://www.adaptingweb.net/2013/01/color-symbolism- webdesign-localization.html>.
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