International UX handbook
A Guide to International UX Research
-min_edited.png)
Project overview
This is a project I completed while studying User-Centered Design at Lake Washington Institute of Technology. I was tasked with designing a reference guide containing a summary of what I had learned about preparing and conducting international UX research. The contents of this guide were the result of an extensive cultural study I completed during my time studying this topic.
Role
Sole UX Researcher
Timeline
June 2023
Tools
PowerPoint, Excel
Skills & Methods
International UX Research, Hofstede's Cultural Models, Website and User Interface Comparison
Project purpose
To create a resource for UX professionals who may be new to international UX research or who haven't participated in such an activity in a while. This resource is intended to provide them with helpful information and checklists as they prepare for, and while they conduct, an international user experience research study.
.jpeg)
-min.jpeg)
Project goals
-
Explain what international UX research is, its importance, and how culture influences design.
-
Compare localization to internationalization.
-
Discuss personal bias and designing with empathy.
-
Create a checklist for international UX research and usability testing as well as an international heuristic evaluation checklist.
-
Provide a list of other resources on the topic.
-min.jpeg)
-min_edited.jpg)
-min.jpeg)
.jpeg)
-min.jpeg)
The Process
In order to speak authoritatively on the subject matter, I first completed an extensive cultural study focusing on two countries, Demark and South Korea. Why these two countries? Denmark and the Scandinavian region in general have long been a personal interest of mine. I have not yet been able to travel to this part of the world, but I’ve always wished I could live there. My personal values align with several of their culture values such as their educational, social, and environmental systems and infrastructure. South Korea was a region I knew little about, so I selected this country to encourage me to learn more.
​
I used Geert Hoftstede's six cultural dimensions to examine these two regions of the world and compare their cultural influences. My research focused on understanding various rituals and core values of the two cultures and taking that information and applying it to a website and user interface design analysis for two companies, Samsung and MAC Cosmetics. I chose these companies because of their global scale, ensuring they had a market in both Denmark and South Korea. This study allowed me to identify specific design elements of each website in each country and understand why those design decisions were made.
​
The full cultural study is available to click through below.
The result
reflection
This project, along with the cultural study, instilled in me a deep fascination with international UX research and the work of Geert Hofstede. I feel my worldview and exposure to diverse cultures is rather limited, so I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn about other cultures through the framework of cross-cultural psychology. I hope to be involved in more of this type of work which I strongly believe will make me a better designer, a better researcher, and a better person.
This project allowed me to take a concept I truly believe would be useful and empower people to manage their healthcare and begin to see it as a functional app. However, it is limited too much on my personal opinion, preferences, and perspective. My next steps would be to take this to real users and test it thoroughly to answer the following questions:
-
Does this concept actually resonate with people?
-
How is the app serving the user and how is it not?
-
What features and functionality do users really need form a medical records app?
-
How might I take this concept further to integrate it with services like telehealth?
​
This experience allowed me to take different aspects of my design knowledge and technical skillset and apply it to something I'm quite proud of. I am grateful for the feedback of my peers which helped refine important details within my wireframes and polish my prototype.