10 tips for designing localised interfaces

Catering for international customers can significantly increase the number of variables a designer needs to consider when creating a user-friendly interface. Words and sentences can dramatically change in length and content may not be applicable in certain locales. If you’re not smart about how your designs are structured you could find your typography and layout completely fall apart in other languages. You may also have to create multiple versions of the same assets. Designs that haven’t taken localisation into account may take much longer to complete - especially if you need hooks to individually change spacing, font sizes and content for different territories. Interfaces can break or look untidy in different locales if you focus your attention too heavily on one language.

These tips should help to deliver one tidy experience to international customers without degrading the quality in any region, while also preventing unnecessary work that could eat into your budgets. The tips are focused on design but also cover practical CSS examples for developers to play an equal role. (Translated copy is provided courtesy of Google Translate for the benefit of the following examples, so please excuse any cultural inaccuracies.)

01. Use flexible heights on elements with text

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq. 

TOPICS