Intercultural Aspects in Interface design

or: know who you’re targeting.
The Geekettez. Design Studio and User Experience Consultancy. Mannheim & Berlin
Intercultural
Aspects of
Interface Design

*PS Name’s got a history
Hello, I'm Stefanie of The Geekettez
[gi:kettz]* :)
We’re a design studio for digital
products & a UX Team of 2
Stefanie Kegel Jennifer Moss
Berlin & Mannheim
Stalking here:
@thegeekettez
@guerillagirl_
@missmoss

Introduction to Hofstedes’ Dimensions
Example / Key Takeaways
The role of culture in product design & strategy
What we cover

The role of culture in product design
& strategy
01

Todays challenges
We create products for a global diverse
audience, so:
1. Products should attract people with very
different backgrounds.
2. Products need to be understood by those
people

Todays challenges
To design for a cross cultural experience
means we need a basic understanding
of culture / social & societal psychology
and avoid stereotypical thinking – or at
least be aware of it if we do so.

What makes a successful product?
Cooper, A. (2004). The inmates are running the asylum – why high-tech
products drive us crazy and how to restore the sanity

What is culture?
Example images when doing a google image search of „culture“

What is culture?
Example images when doing a google image search of „culture“
?

Robbins, Stephanie S. and Stylianou, Antonis C., "Reflections of Culture in Global Corporate Web
Sites" (2000). AMCIS 2000 Proceedings. Paper 278.
http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000/278
What is culture?
Culture can be defined as a shared set of
values that influence societal perceptions,
attitudes, preferences, and
responses.“
„

conventions
meanings
norms & values
actions
language
cognition
goals
What is culture?
beliefs & emotions

Culture shapes what we feel attracted &
connected to
Cooper, A. (2004). The inmates are running the asylum – why high-tech

Culture takes an effect on….
…what catches our attention
…how we look for information
…what seems important / not that important to us
…what seems trustworthy/shady to us
…our purchase decisions

Introduction to Geert Hofstedes’
cultural dimensions
02

Dimensions of culture
(Hofstede, 1980)
1.Power Distance Index (PDI, high vs low)
2.Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV)
3.Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS)
4.Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI, high vs low)
5.Long Term vs Short Term Orientation (LTO)
6.Indulgance vs Restraint (we will not cover this)

Dimensions of culture
(Hofstede, 1980)
https://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html
Example: Hofstedes dimensions USA vs Germany vs Russia

Power Distance Index (PDI) - High vs low
Expresses the attitude and acceptance of
the culture concerning inequalities and
authority among individuals.

Power Distance Index (PDI) - High vs low
Distribution of Power distance according to Hofstede. Red marked countries ranked higher in Power distance, which
means society have accepted a certain hierarchy order Green/yellow marked countries are ranked lower in PD and
prefer more flatter hierarchies Source: http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=45061

Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV vs COL)
The ‚I‘ vs ‚We‘ dimension in terms of the self-image.
Self image as individual versus self image as group
member
Do I prefer to focus on ‚myself’, decide for myself or should
I care more about my in-group than myself?
It is about autonomy and personal freedom vs. cohesive
groups and loyalty.

Distribution of individualism vs collectivism according to Hofstede. Red marked countries are more individualist.
Green/yellow marked countries are more collectivist. Source: http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?
reportId=9826

Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS Index)
Is the society more masculine or feminine oriented?
Masculine societies are more competitive, success and
goal/achievement driven than feminine societies,
which value cooperation, modesty, taking care of the
weak individuals etc.

Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS Index)
Distribution of masculinity vs femininity according to Hofstede. Red marked countries are more masculine
Green/yellow marked countries are more feminine. Source: http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?
reportId=35509

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI, high vs low)
How do people of a society deal with uncertainty/
ambiguity of possible future risks? How do people
handle the fact that they can not control the future?
Are we open to new ideas or do we prefer the familiar
over the unfamiliar?

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI, high vs low)
Distribution of UAI according to Hofstede. Red marked countries have a high UAI score. Orange
medium & yellow countries (e.g China) have a low UAI score Source: http://www.targetmap.com/
viewer.aspx?reportId=35503 and https://geert-hofstede.com/china.html

Long Term vs Short Term Orientation (LTO)
Long termed goals like working hard for the future
(or: live for the future, future-orientated) vs. short
termed goals like quick results (live in the moment)

Distribution of LTO according to Hofstede. Red marked countries have a high LTO score. Orange &
yellow medium & green (USA) have a low LTO score. Source: http://www.targetmap.com/
viewer.aspx?reportId=6691
Long Term vs Short Term Orientation (LTO)

Example & Takeaway: Individualism
vs Collectivism
03

Which kind of messages could be important for the
individualist culture that is predominant in the USA?
What kind of messages are more appealing to collectivist
cultures like China?

Example: Pﬁzer Inc., German site: „Me“ not „We“
http://www.pfizer.de/
„Me“ not „We“ approach
„Read her
story“Identiﬁcation
Individual approach in
imagery and content

Pﬁzer: Chinese site: „We“ rather than „Me“
http://www.pfizer.com.cn/(S(rqsopb55n5t2ie455oqdruuo))/index_en.aspx (04, 2016)
„We“ not „Me“ approach
Focus on the in-group

Pﬁzer: Korean site: „We“ rather than „Me“
http://www.pfizer.co.kr/ (04, 2016)
„We“ not „Me“ approach

Key Takeaways
If you want your digital product to succeed in terms of engagement and
conversion you should consider cognitive cultural differences and keep
them in mind to start building your design „hypothesis“ on it – because
people with different cultural backgrounds will perceive your messages –
like imagery, tone of voice and content strategy – differently and this will
have an influence on their behaviour and decisions.

Key Takeaways
Hofstedes dimensions can serve as a starting point for
this challenge.
Thank you!

Further reading
Katharina Reinecke, Sonja Schenkel, Abraham Bernstein, "Modeling a User's Culture. In: The Handbook of
Research in Culturally-Aware Information Technology: Perspectives and Models ", IGI Global, 2010
http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~reinecke/Publications_files/ModelingAUsersCulture.pdf
The Hofstede Centre. Strategy, Culture, Change
https://geert-hofstede.com
Barber, W., and Badre, A., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Culturability: The Merger of Culture and Usability
http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/hfweb/att4/proceedings/barber/
Colors in culture: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/

References
World map : http://www.vecteezy.com/map-vector/50156-9-stylish-vector-world-map-vector
Desireable Product: Cooper, A. (2004). The inmates are running the asylum – why high-tech
Colors in culture: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/
Images
Articles &
Papers
The Hofstede Centre. Strategy, Culture, Change
https://geert-hofstede.com
Barber, W., and Badre, A., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Culturability: The Merger of Culture and Usability
http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/hfweb/att4/proceedings/barber/
Nisbett, Richard E. The geography of thought, 2003

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