Review of Cross-cultural design for IT products and services by Pei-Luen Patrick Rau, Tom Plocher, & Yee-Yin Choong. (2013), CRC Press

Abstract

The culture we are part of tells us what aspects of design constitute "good" both in terms of aesthetics and usability. When it comes to technologies, these factors must be addressed for a given item to be successfully adopted by and correctly used within a particular culture. To put these ideas into practice, consider the following: A given interface might be very easy for the members of a particular culture to use, but if its aesthetic appeal is so jarring that individuals avoid it almost instinctively (i.e., before they actually use it), then the benefits of that interface are lost. Similarly, an aesthetically appealing interface might entice the members of a given culture to try it, but if the interface is difficult to use, then the initially interested audience is likely to abandon it. Effective communication design for international contexts thus becomes a matter of recognizing and addressing both aspects associated with "good." And as online media increasingly link the world together via information technologies, the need to understand and address such factors becomes increasingly important.