Web Design:Worldwide Differences?Juan Burgos

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.

By Victor Candia

By Daniel Aviles

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!

http://www.impala-webstudio.fr/

http://www.toolofna.com

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>.

Questions

1. As a web designer, what should we do to create globalized websites?

2. What role does culture play in creating visually appealing websites?

3. What is an example of cultural differences in design?