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COLOR
Colors invoke different moods, emotions, and states of minds. Besides their general significance, they assume special significance in particular socio-cultural contexts. While localizing visual elements, you could use the tables in this section as references to choose a color that would convey the intended meaning to users from a specific cultural background.
DEFINING CULTURE
Before we examine the aforementioned visual elements, lets review a definition of culture given by Geert Hofstede, Emeritus ProfessorMaastricht University: 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. Hofstede also propounded a set of five dimensions that help objectify cultural differences: Collectivism vs Individualism Power Distance Femininity vs Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance Long Term Orientation We will study these dimensions later in this article.
These examples elucidate the fact that the two genders have widely different color preferences. As a general observation, men tend to like cooler colors like blue and black, while women have a bias towards warmer colors that is, shades of red and orange3. See Case Study Femininity vs Masculinity later in this article for more information on the general preferences of the two genders.
currency in the 1870s and 1880s. In the 1890s, cream shades got popular7. In the twentieth century, these cycles of preference are short and abstract. As far as content, Help systems, and Web design are concerned, shades of blues seem to be the in thing globally. Some custom colors that Web and graphic designers prefer, as per a survey, are shown in Figure 18.
Web-safe Colors
Back when computer displays were capable of displaying only 256 colors, a palette of 216 colorssupposedly immune to dithering on such displayswas developed. Those colors did not have standardized names, but were identifiable through a unique set of RGB values. It must be noted that the Web-safe palette has gone obsolete now9, since almost all modern color displays are 16+ bit. However, designers of anti-phishing10 systems still use that palette; since a large number of its colors can be distinguished uniquely by the human eye.
Color Trends
Like all other things, colors too periodically gain or lose favor with the masses. Very bright colors ruled the roost in the West in the mid-1800s, but subdued colors gained
Stop, halt
Similarly, using body parts as symbols could back-fire. Inanimate objects can be substituted for human figures, wherever possible.11 When using human figures is indispensable, line and generic sketches should be used. The use of animal symbols should also be avoided while designing for an international audience. The dog normally thought of as a symbol of loyalty in the West, is food to many East Asians. The snake, which could be a negative symbol for the West (the Devil, tempter), is the symbol of life and rebirth in some parts of the East.11 Many animals hold religious significance in specific parts of the world. The cow is sacred in India, while the pig is an unholy animal for Muslims everywhere. Mythological or religious symbols that hold relevance for a particular culture may be meaningless for others. For instance, the Red Cross symbol is modified to the Red Crescent in Arabic countries, since crosses and six-pointed stars can be deemed inappropriate there11. Similarly, while the Swastika is reminiscent of Nazism in the West, the related Swastik is a holy symbol for the Hindus.
Icon
Problems In Sicily, this hand gesture is a reference to an intimate activity. In France, this gesture means zero or worthless. In Japan, it is a reference to money. In South America and India, this hand gesture has anatomical connotations.
Yes, OK
Figure 2: Swastika and Swastik Using abstract symbols, made up of simple geometric shapes, can be a safe option. Here too, care must be taken not to use symbols that resemble religious symbols (like the Islamic crescent) and flags of nations.11 Using natural images for designing symbols is also an option, since these remain fairly consistent across the world. Other possible inspirations for international symbols could be modes of transportation, globally-marketed consumer goods (like cameras, batteries, and
Precisely, yes
electric bulbs), office equipment, communication media, scientific symbols, and professions practiced throughout the world (painter, carpenter, writer, etc). Some traffic and warning symbols are also fairly standardized and in use throughout the world11.
Hofstede has determined scores for each of these attributes for many countries of the world.
CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES
While localizing the visual elements in an information asset, an understanding of the attributes of target culture comes very handy. In this section, well look at some theories that attempt to define such attributes beyond the obvious.
Some other applications of the Power Distance dimension are as follows: Navigation: People from High Power Distance cultures have been observed to appreciate restricted, guided routes and ways to access information, and greater use of authentication mechanisms. On the other hand, users from LPD cultures demonstrate a preference for multiple information paths, and freedom in the way things can be done.13 User Interaction: An analysis of the Coca-Cola websites for countries with different power distances shows that the error messages meant for users in LPD cultures tend to be didactic, while for HPD cultures, these are more supportive in nature.13 Models: While users in LPD cultures like to see influential people and leaders featured on websites, users in HPD cultures prefer to see normal people engaged in day-to-day activities. This may also reflect in the fonts, colors, sounds, logos and other multimedia elements on a website.
While searching for corporate information, users from individualist societies tend to be more interested in personal achievers at a company. Members of collectivist cultures focus more on group milestones.
An example application of the LTO dimension is in designing the Contact Us page for a corporate website. Even a single Web form could suffice as the Contact Us Web page of a site targeting users from low LTO cultures, since long-distance communication is often the dominant mode of communication in such societies. However, in high LTO countries, users expect to see the personal contact information of some company representative displayed prominently on contact pages.13
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
Sometimes, the quest to be politically correct leads to the conscious rejection of certain colors and symbols by a people or community. Such trends are more observable when a nation comes of agefor instance, when it becomes a sovereign state after a period of dictatorship or colonial rule. Otherwise too, trends like replacing the word disabled with the wheelchair symbol, or the coinage differently-abled, reflect an attempt to avoid offending those in question. Another recent example is that of China blocking Web searches for the keyword Jasmine in the wake of the recent Tunisian Jasmine revolution.
SUMMARY
The localization of corporate Web assets is a complex process involving many technical and cultural variables. The cultural aspects of this process can be addressed adequately through a careful study of the target user-base and application of cultural models, early in the development cycle. Besides linguistic heterogeneities, the perception of colors, images, symbols, gestures, and signals by different cultures varies under the influence of factors like demographics, taboos, politics, history, moralities, and theistic beliefs. Any successful attempt to localize these assets, thus, must take cognizance of these factors. While localizing visual elements in a culture-sensitive manner increases the overall localization effort, the resulting global Web presence helps companies build, maintain, and expand a loyal customer-base. Web analytics tools like Adobe Test&Target and userfeedback mechanisms, such as ratings and questionnaires, could help quantify the impact of culture-sensitive localization on user experience and customer loyalty.
Mental Models are assumptions that people have in mind. For example, when someone says they went to see a sports game, Indian listeners would likely imagine a cricket match, while American listeners would likely think about a football/baseball game. Navigation pertains to how user would traverse a particular model. Interaction pertains to the human-computer interaction. Interaction involves elements, such as I/O, status displays, and other feedback. Appearance relates to the choice of fonts, colors, styles, sounds, or tactile perception for localized Web UIs. Besides UI design, Marcus components could find applications in information design and content delivery mechanisms for documentation suites.
REFERENCES
1. 2. Global 2005 Calendar, Human Factors International Table at http://www.users.bigpond.com/lionelhartley/reso urces/colours.htm, accessed in August 2007 Jennifer Kyrnin, Color Symbolism, http://webdesign.about.com, accessed in April 2011
3.
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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/BabyG and http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/GShock, 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/i ndex2a.html, accessed in August 2007
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10. http://www.honeynet.org/papers/phishing, accessed in April 2011 11. William Horton, The Icon Book, [New York, John Wiley and Sons], 1994, page 245 12. http://geert-hofstede.com, accessed in April 2011 13. Aaron Marcus and Associates, Culture vs. Corporate Global Web UI Design, accessed in August 2007 14. Harley Hahn, Time Sense: Polychronicity and Monochronicity, accessed in April 2011 15. http://www.tamas.com/samples/sourcedocs/Hofstede_Hall.pdf, accessed in April 2011 16. Valentina-Johanna Baumgartner, A Practical Set of Cultural Dimensions for Global UserInterface Analysis and Design, accessed in April 2011
Samartha Vashishtha Senior Technical Writer Adobe Systems Email: samartha@adobe.com
Beyond work, Samartha Vashishtha 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.