Usability Forum

Link: The Washing Machine That Ate My Sari - Mistakes in Cross-Cultural Design

By Eddie Lopez. Wednesday, 7. January 2009, 02:39:24

A concept I find endlessly fascinating- cross cultural design. Here's an interactions magazine article about how designing for the culture you're marketing in should not be skimped on:

The Washing Machine That Ate My Sari - Mistakes in Cross-Cultural Design

Form full of failDesign Decisions: The new Highrise signup chart

Comments

Dan Alexandru # 7. January 2009, 08:56

I dislike that marketing language the "interaction" article is written in. Still, there are a few good points.

WillYum # 7. January 2009, 08:57

Fascinating read (if a bit thick for casual reading). I love that they were shredding clothes... wow.

I don't know why feature creep is such a 'gold standard' here in the US. It's like our own cultural system is so based on 'bells and whistles' that we brag... hm. I guess we do, "My phone can do this.." "Well, my phone can do this...." blah, blah, blah.

I'd sure love if my phone could replace my credit card. Necessity is the mother of invention. The inability of the western world to adapt is what will make these emerging markets so much more advanced.

Yum

Dan Alexandru # 5. February 2009, 10:46

I found a better article on the same topic, "Creating a New Language for Nutrition: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 countries".
Part 1 Part 2

The icons that went through the process are a must-see