Beyond Translation: Approaches to Interactive Products for Chinese Consumers

Abstract

The localization of interactive, digital products often centers around disconnects between a foreign language and North American conventions-the deficit-driven approach. The fact that a distinct user language can be the key to a deep understanding of a culture that ultimately leads to solutions that go beyond purely functional language support is often overlooked. In this article we describe the challenges of enabling products for interaction with Chinese customers. We show how deficit-driven approaches have been used for quickly identifying and addressing usability issues in interfaces. However, when fundamental disconnects between a product and a user culture exist, the deficit perspective can result in hard-to-understand and cumbersome products. We propose an alternative, complementary approach that is based on the interdependency of language, culture, and interaction. It allows product and interface design practitioners to reveal users' language rules, elements, and structures. Those characteristics reflect users' mental models, problem-solving approaches, and behavioral patterns. This approach fosters the integration of cultural aspects into the design process to create products that connect to the conventions of interaction in the Chinese culture-toward truly "smart" products for the Chinese market.