I am doing some research on Japan and China UX + UI. Linguistic and cultural influences are the key factors that dominate the way these sites are structured and designed. Are users maturing in these markets or UX is not the heart of the Asian business?
Will be good to hear what are the challenges you have faced? How did you overcome these?
hi @glizhenliu
Thanks for this post, the topic is really interesting.
I think there is no level of user maturity over UX topics. The needs that we have, as human beings, are always the same. Many of these needs are different from social conventions and cultural backgrounds. Often we tend to match UX topics only with design arguments (for example, text readability), without thinking that UX is related to problems that are not strictly related to design arguments. For example, the frustration of the user when he/she does not understand what is happening In a specific step in a purchase process.
To sum up, I think that a good starting point is to make a list of the main reasons for friction in the use of web devices and digital services. Such as the quality of the mobile connection, the cost of the connections. For instance is it possible to publish a website that can be accessed by most connected devices with a different type of connections? How much does my phone bill cost to navigate this site?
I hope it helps!
Have a nice day
Luigi
Hi @dopamino
Thank you for your reply and sharing your thoughts.
Totally agree with you as some issues tend to be related to design rather than what is reachable to the users in context. For example as China has a closed door and controlled media policy, it has led to some interesting innovations.
I remember reading somewhere that ‘What is right in your world is wrong to another person on the other side of the world’. This is down to environmental, cultural, infrastructure, language and even social needs (at times).
It will be interesting to study over time what these differences are and will the gap narrow or widen?
Best,
glizhen
hi @glizhenliu
I noticed that the digital divide between the world’s countries increases in relation to the social and economic gaps between the same countries.
A few months ago I was attending and interesting talk where was explained that in some countries people believe that Facebook is the internet. The research demonstrated that the millennia access to the web pages through Facebook and not using a browser. For these folks, there is a perfect overlap between the concept of internet/the web and a product (Facebook).
I believe that this example can give us the size of the topic.
Now that you mention it, I realize that I used to think that Internet Explorer was the internet. I’m glad I know better now!
hi @Piper_Wilson
this is exactly what is happening in some countries with a huge potential in terms of new internet users.
Names like Facebook, Twitter and Google are perceived by folks as the internet itself.
I don’t know if this is a good sign for the safety and the freedom of the internet.