Today we are going to understand a very important aspect of design whether it is design in the form of websites, apps, product packages or any other medium where design is important.
This is because today we are going to talk about cross-cultural design. This is a very unique aspect of design and is perfectly in line with globalism and how markets are turning international.
If you associate yourself with a brand and you are responsible for leading that brand identity into multiple regions and multiple demographics then you should understand cross-cultural design.
This is something that goes way beyond form and functionality and aesthetics and it is much more about creating designs that are acceptable to everyone.
Cross-cultural design is actually a concept that was popularised by the world-famous creative director designer and illustrator Senongo Akpem.
Cross-cultural design was a concept coined by this extraordinary designer and writer and he helped further the cause of understanding such a concept in his very popular book “Cross-Cultural Design”.
While this blog is based on this book, we are not going to give you spoilers about the book. “Cross-Cultural Design” by Senongo Akpem can be a significant milestone for you to understand what it means to have designs that are more culturally aware.
So, let us understand what is cross-cultural design.
What Is Cross-Cultural Design?
As designers, we have always been told to believe that design needs to be specific and that design needs to cater to the specific needs of different cultures and languages.
This has traditionally led designers to the conclusion that it’s not really possible to come up with designs that can be acceptable to diverse cultures and languages as well as people from different social strata.
Cross-cultural design aims to disprove that.
Cross-cultural design is the active effort to understand different cultural nuances in the form of text and colour as well as symbols and images and acknowledge them through socially conscious research.
After such information has been obtained, cross-cultural design is all about the integration and implementation of these cultural undertones in the most appropriate and respectful way possible.
This is primarily done so that the design can be much more accepted by people and cultures all over the world without cultural appropriation.
This is quite different from the traditional technique of design where having a design with no cross-cultural themes or a very westernised theme was the norm.
Cross-cultural design is about actively participating in multiple cultures in order to get a direct experience of different cultural differences and knowledge as well as languages.
This is much more difficult than simply ignoring any kind of culture but it is the right thing to do.
What Is the Significance of Cross-Cultural Design?
Design traditionally has always been about taking the road that is safe and sound and without any controversies.
That is why traditional design was always about muted colours and muted cultural references and only safe references that would not get any brand into trouble.
Traditional designs are also easy to do because there is simply no scope or need for cultural awareness or research.
However, that led to a problem, designs are just like culture, some countries dominate it whether it is through their political power or whether it is through their economy or a combination of everything.
This means the traditional way of doing things is only going to create designs for westernized and industrialized societies that are rich and developed as well as educated in the Western way of thought.
For example, if you want to create a design for an ice cream shop and you want to design it for a global brand, the traditional way of doing it would be to base that design on something from the US rather than Nigeria.
But what if you want to showcase individualism and the unique flavours of the beautiful country of Nigeria? Going the traditional way will simply ignore the cultural references and there would simply be no room for providing a very educated multi-cultural experience.
That is the significance of cross-cultural design. If you take the same example then the cross-cultural design will factor in all the cultural nuances of Nigeria like its colours, food, people and language as well as social intricacies to come up with a design that is truly cross-cultural and not just bland Western.
This is why cross-cultural design is important.
More Representation Opportunities
One of the most important reasons why we should encourage cross-cultural design is simply because it will create much more opportunities for people around the world.
It will help designers with much more opportunities and this means you can have designers belonging to specific cultures who can now have the opportunity and the space to practice their art.
Traditional designing did not have any space for designers tied to a specific culture and everybody had to bend their design language to the global language.
However, with cross-cultural design, you can now practice designing from your own culture and bring in design elements that are very special to your culture and that you understand better than anyone else.
Better Designs
We can benefit so much from different cultures around the world in terms of design because even if you leave out the points about ethics and representation and just focus on design, cross-cultural design is still a win.
This is because each culture has its own set of designs and motifs as well as socio-economic themes that do not really get any representation.
What cross-cultural design will do is it will provide opportunities for these amazing designs to come into the mainstream and get more representation.
It will improve the entire designing situation of the world as we will now get designs that are very unique and can fit in well with any brand if you like properly.
Competitive Advantage
If you want to stand out in the market and if you do not want to utilise common designs that are used by everyone then cross-cultural design is the way to go.
Brands need to address the specific needs of different cultural groups and one of the ways in which different groups feel they are being noticed is with the help of designs.
For example, if you are going to represent the people of India for a certain product or project then the only way to get the attention of that group is to utilise designs that are culturally relevant to that group.
While it might take a little bit of research and time to do it but it is ultimately worth it because you are not going to get attention from a specific group if you do not understand the needs of that specific group and if you do not represent the unique attributes of that group.
Better Ethics
Cross-cultural design is just more ethical than anything else in the world and this is because we have seen a dominance of a very Westernised form of design for decades.
This can be attributed to colonialism and this can even be attributed to globalism and the power of economies to dictate design choices.
Whatever the case may be, this has just made it very difficult for regional and cultural voices of different cultures to have any place in design.
This is dangerous to the point of cultural appropriation.
Diversity is beautiful and we can hope to gain so much from the unique design languages of different cultures and cross-cultural design can finally make this a possibility and help companies fulfil their ethical responsibility.
Cross-Cultural Designing Factors to Consider for Cultural Appreciation
Language
The very first factor you must keep in mind if you want to create cross-cultural designs is language because some things are just good in the original language.
Sometimes designers include elements that are translated but the translation sometimes does not really work.
For example, if we look at the Japanese version of the website for Japan Post then the cultural intricacies in that version of the website are a lot compared to the English version of the website.
This is also because the English version of the website is primarily for tourists and they do not need to understand the cultural references and the cultural nuances.
And yes, you must also have options for translations but you must not use existing translation services because they often get things wrong.
If you really need translation help in your designs then you should always seek local help because they are able to tell you exactly what is right and where you must translate.
Colour
Colour plays an important role in cross-cultural design because different colours and combinations of colours hold significance in different cultures.
For example, we have a set of colours that are significant to African countries and we also have colours like red that are significant to Asian cultures.
However, if you start using red for African countries then the meaning can be completely different.
That is why it is very important to understand the relevance of colours not just if some colours are associated positively with some cultures but also if there are negative connotations regarding colours for others.
This is even more important if the brand or the product you are trying to promote with your design is very much centred around culture.
For example, if you are trying to create it design for something religious to people who follow Buddhism then you can utilise colours like red and yellow but you should not utilise colours like black that have a negative connotation.
Type
Typography is one such aspect of cross-cultural design because not all typefaces are from right to left.
Some cultures have typography from left to right as in the case of Arabic and some cultures have typography from top to bottom as in the case of Japanese and many more.
Not all designs are going to be perfect if you try to utilise the Latin system of writing and sometimes you also need to consider that when you are creating user interfaces.
This is not just because it will look good and be more culturally appropriate but it is generally going to help other users navigate the user interface better if you take typography into consideration.
Cross-cultural design is about understanding your target audience and it is about making sure that they are comfortable.
Images
Image utilisation is a big part of cross-cultural design but you must be careful what kind of images you plan on using.
However, image utilisation can be tricky because there is a very fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation.
This is because if you are creating designs for a boutique Egyptian product for people in Egypt then you simply cannot put in every random pyramid and ancient Egyptian element you want because that would be cultural appropriation.
However, you can utilise themes local to that area such as the landscape and you can put in pictures of people from Egypt because that will be much more relevant.
Similarly, if you are making a website for an Indian design, it does not make sense to put in Caucasian faces because the target audience will not relate to it.
Teams
We now come to teams which is one of the most important aspects of cross-cultural design.
Cross-cultural design is all about promoting diversity and the best way you can do that is to have the actual people you are designing for in your team.
You can be someone from Sweden with a very high appreciation for Chinese culture and you can be creating designs for the Chinese Market.
But you must always understand that you are not ethnically Chinese. That is where you need to have people who are actually ethnically Chinese in your team.
Having someone directly from a culture is the biggest blessing you can have when it comes to cross-cultural design because they will not only help you in research but they will be the source of research for cross-cultural design.
We hope this blog has helped you understand what is cross-cultural design and how it can be quite impactful and actually quite beneficial in the grand scheme of things.
We always try to incorporate cross-cultural design elements and features into our design language at Think To Share.
We welcome you to visit our website and check out everything we do as we design everything from websites to apps, logos, products and so much more in addition to all our IT solutions and services.
