A global online user population necessitates the exchange of content from different sources, and the ability to aggregate multilingual content is a critical requirement within many research and business contexts. Mixed-language content provides a rich information set, while adding another layer of complexity and scale, which we can address through thoughtful UX design. To effectively reach a global audience and provide access to content in multiple languages, we must structure mixed-language content to support its successful presentation and delivery, and provide innovative designs that facilitate exploration.
In this talk, we discuss real-world examples for:
- Presenting content in multiple languages so it co-exists well on the screen and in search
- Designing interfaces that support navigating, exploring, and understanding content available in multiple languages
- Structuring content to support a flexible, scalable multilingual information management approach
Some of the examples in this slideshow are from projects we have worked on, and some are not.
Useful and inspirational resources
- W3C i18:
- Regionalizing Your Mobile Designs — Steve Hoober:
- Supporting Localization — Jonathan Walter
- RTL Styling 101 — Ahmad Shadeed
- Product Design Best Practices & Tools for Localization — Michelle Chin (UXPA talk)
- 13 tips for making responsive web design multi-lingual — BBC
- Best Practices for Multilingual Access — Europeana
- UXPA Magazine articles:
- John Yunker
- globalbydesign.com
- Think Outside the Country (book)
- Build bridges, not walls — Jenny Shen (video)
- Global UX — Whitney Quesenbery, Daniel Szuc (book)
- Planning for an international audience to save time and money — Rachel Peña (UXPA talk)
- How the ideology of monolingualism drives us to monolingual interaction — Manuel Pérez-Quiñones, Consuelo Carr Salas
- Going Global: The Intersection of IA and UX in a Multilingual Environment — Design for Context (IA Summit talk)