Web Designers and Internationalization
Random thought:
I think more web designers should become interested in internationalization (i18n).
I don’t mean, mainly, that they should learn about the technical issues about encodings and keyboard support and Unicode and stuff like that (although of course they should).
What I mean is, there are a lot of interesting design problems related to i18n. People who like reading about how to design effective websites and appealing, useful interfaces will also like the challenges that i18n offers.
- Design: interfaces to translated content in many (perhaps 30 or more) languages in an flexible, extensible, intuitive way
- Rethink: how existing content will fit into an internationalized site―question your assumptions.
- Imagine: somebody half way around the world, who doesn’t even know your language, might end up using something that you’ve designed. Cool.
For some analysis, check out Global by Design’s The Best Global Web Sites (and why).
I’ve often seen designers out there seeming to dread dealing with multilingual content. Why? It’s fun.
3 comments.
Technorati tags: design, i18n, Language and the Web, ui
Amen to that. And yes, designers on general do hate dealing with internationalization issues. I guess it takes them out of their comfort zone.
Personally, I find the challenges of multilingual web typography fascinating. Tool bad there is limited information published.
And trying to add translations to a site where the designer didn’t internationalize can be painful.
Andj.
Hi Andj,
It is indeed interesting. Hopefully there will be a new breed of designers who increasingly learn to love the particular puzzles of i18n, and who recognize the opportunities it offers.
As for the painfulness of bolting on internationalization as an afterthought, I’m reminded of the sig of Addison Philips from the w3c:
Yup ☺ (And it’s still challenging, even if one adopts the right attitude from the get-go!)