Designing for International Audiences
If your product serves users in multiple countries or languages, design decisions that seem straightforward for a single locale become significantly more complex. This article explains the key considerations for internationalised products.
Internationalisation vs. Localisation
- Internationalisation (i18n): Designing and building the product so it can support multiple languages and locales — a technical and design foundation
- Localisation (l10n): Adapting the product for a specific language, region, or culture — the actual translation and cultural adaptation work
Text Expansion and Contraction
When UI text is translated, it expands or contracts significantly. German text is typically 30% longer than English; Japanese can be 50% shorter. Design must accommodate this: use flexible layouts that expand with content rather than fixed-width boxes that will break when text is longer.
Right-to-Left (RTL) Languages
Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian are right-to-left languages. RTL support requires mirroring the entire layout — navigation moves to the right, text aligns right, icons that imply direction are flipped. This is best built in from the start, not retrofitted.
Cultural Considerations
- Colours carry different meanings in different cultures (white = purity in Western cultures; mourning in some East Asian cultures)
- Date, time, and number formats vary significantly
- Images of people should reflect diverse representation for global audiences
- Iconography can be misinterpreted across cultures