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!

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

Citations Arandilla, Rachel. "Graphic Design Examples Worldwide: How Nationality Reflects In Artworks." : n. page. Web. 12 Mar Arno, Christian. "How Web Designers Can Adopt a Global Mindset." (2010): n. page. Web. 12 Mar Mountassir, Yassine. "Localization of design: the effects of country specific graphical web design elements on the evaluation of homepages.". N.p., n.d. Web.. "Color Meaning in Different Countries: Does It Matter for Website Localization?." (2013): n. page. Web. 12 Mar

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?