Localizing Images: Cultural Aspects and Visual Metaphors

© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

Localizing Images: Cultural Aspects and Visual Metaphors

Samartha VashishthaAdobe Systems


“Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.”

- Geert Hofstede

Defining Culture…

"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster."

- Hofstede


Visual elements

Localization isn’t about just text and screenshots.

…with special relevance for persuasive and marketing-oriented content.

Symbols

Icons

Graphics

ImagesColors

User interaction

s

Visual arrangeme

nts


Symbols

Symbols are closely intertwined with etiquette and religious beliefs.

Swastika and SwastikDiffering representations of the serpent

Hand symbol Intended meaning

Improper in…

OK, thumbs up Italy

Precisely France, Japan, South America,

India

Stop Greece

Hand symbols are generally problematic


Guidelines for using symbols in content

Avoid…

• Graphical elements with text; single letter• Hand symbols, gestures, and body parts• Religious symbols that are not globally recognized• Animal symbols, especially for conveying emotions• Flags as icons to indicate language-specific content

Use…

• Images of nature• Abstract illustrations, sketches, and geometric shapes• Inanimate objects• Globally recognized symbols like professions, modes of

transport, equipment, devices, and consumer goods• Consider time-sensitivity

• Standardized traffic and warning symbols• Other standardized images like scientific symbols


Cultural meaning of color

General meanings conveyedby major colors

Culture-specific meaningsof major colors

http://blogs.adobe.com/samartha/files/2011/05/General-significance-of-colors1.pdf

http://blogs.adobe.com/samartha/files/2011/05/General-significance-of-colors1.pdf

http://blogs.adobe.com/samartha/files/2011/05/Culture-specific-meaning-of-colors.pdf

http://blogs.adobe.com/samartha/files/2011/05/Culture-specific-meaning-of-colors.pdf






Snapshots — Personal care product websites


Other considerations for color preferences

Class differences Age differences Climaticdifferences

Some popular colors for Web and information systems

The Web-safe color pallet is still relevantfor anti-phishing systems.


Cultural attributes and theories


Hofstede’s dimensions of culture

Individualism (IDV)

Power Distance

Index (PDI)

Masculinity (MAS)

Uncertainty

Avoidance Index (UAI)

Long Term Orientation

(LTO)


Hofstede’s dimensions for India and the US

* Generated using a tool at http://geert-hofstede.com


Individualism vs Collectivism


Power Distance

Applications

• Navigation• Models• User Interaction

Malaysia (PDI > 90)

The Netherlands(PDI ~ 40)


Femininity vs Masculinity

Norway(MAS ~ 10)

Saudi Arabia(MAS ~ 55)


Uncertainty Avoidance

The UK(UAI ~ 30)

Belgium(UAI ~ 90)


Long Term Orientation

Pakistan(LTO ~ 0)

India(LTO ~ 60)


Chronicity

Hall’s time orientations differentiate monochronic and polychronic cultures.

Handy attribute during information design and while writing workflow documentation. Possible applications for user interactions.

Monochronicity Polychronicity

Single-tasking Multi-tasking

Undivided attention OK with interruptions

Germany, US, UK, some east-Asian countries

France, Arab world

Profound impact on the business environment of a country.


Marcus’ model of culture

Metaphors

Mental Models

Navigation

Interaction

Appearance

Metaphors

Mental models

Navigation

Interaction

Appearance


Political correctness

Conscious rejection of certain symbolism…

Image courtesy: Clker.com


Examples of ‘visual documentation’ done right

• Simple apps/products• No text/numbers• No localization cost• Clear message!

Aero EAR Classic Soft

Angry Birds


Key takeaways from this session

• Necessity to look beyond text and screenshot

localization

• Visual elements and their cultural meaning

• Theories that help quantify culture

• Case studies and some applications

Image courtesy: Kollewin.com


References

• Global 2005 Calendar, Human Factors International• Table at http://www.users.bigpond.com/lionelhartley/resources/colours.htm, accessed in

August 2007• Jennifer Kyrnin, “Color Symbolism”, http://webdesign.about.com, accessed in April 2011 • H John Johnsen, “The Cultural Significance of Color”, http://www.americanchronicle.com,

[California, American Chronicle], accessed in April 2011• http://www.umb.edu/wau/techniques/color.html, accessed in April 2011 • http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Baby-G and

http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/G-Shock, accessed in April 2011• Jeanette Joy Fisher, “Color Help: Many Factors Affect Color Preference”,

http://ezinearticles.com, accessed in August 2007 • http://www.simplebits.com/notebook/2005/11/10/colors.html, accessed in August 2007• http://www.webmonkey.com/webmonkey/00/37/index2a.html, accessed in August 2007• http://www.honeynet.org/papers/phishing, accessed in April 2011 • William Horton, “The Icon Book”, [New York, John Wiley and Sons], 1994, page 245• http://geert-hofstede.com, accessed in April 2011• Aaron Marcus and Associates, “Culture vs. Corporate Global Web UI Design”, accessed in

August 2007• Harley Hahn, “Time Sense: Polychronicity and Monochronicity”, accessed in April 2011• http://www.tamas.com/samples/source-docs/Hofstede_Hall.pdf, accessed in April 2011• Valentina-Johanna Baumgartner, “A Practical Set of Cultural Dimensions for Global User-

Interface Analysis and Design”, accessed in April 2011


About the presenter

Samartha Vashishtha works as Content and Community Lead with Adobe Systems, India. Beyond work, he is a bilingual poet and intermittent technology journalist.

He blogs about all things Adobe at http://blogs.adobe.com/samartha.You can follow him on Twitter @samarthav.

The views expressed in this presentation are the presenter’s own. His employer may not subscribe to them.
