Column: UX Across Cultures

Digital products connect people across cultures, making the world so globalized that distances become smaller and relationships closer. However, many of the key platforms that we all use have a West-centric mindset. Thus, interacting with these user interfaces can present challenges to people who belong to cultures that diverge from Western norms. While many global software products strive to address this gap by providing localized versions, as a non-native English speaker who frequently interacts with Western English user interfaces, I have observed that some product teams still overlook the needs of broader audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds.

One outstanding example of a company’s initially failing to meet the needs of a broad audience is the Facebook real-name policy controversy of 2014, which required users to use their legal name on the platform, as shown in Figure 1. This policy clashed with the cultural norms of some indigenous communities, in which people’s names might not match legal documentation. As a result, Facebook suspended some accounts for non-compliance. Members of the public criticized Facebook for being culturally insensitive and ignoring cultural identities. Only after significant pushback did Facebook revisit the policy and let people use the names by which their communities most commonly knew them. This controversy highlighted the importance of recognizing and respecting cultural diversity in identity and naming conventions. Read More

Loyalty can manifest across cultures in diverse ways. In an Eastern culture such as Taiwan, communities come together to honor their beliefs and loyalty has deep roots in religious and cultural traditions. On the other hand, in Western societies such as Australia, loyalty often intertwines with Western values of individualism and self-expression—for example, in the way Swifties express their loyalty and deep connections to Taylor Swift’s music and style.

This diversity carries over to the commercial world, in which loyalty programs are forming and adapting for multiple markets. Loyalty programs have become ubiquitous today. According to the data, there are more than 3.3 billion loyalty-program memberships in the United States. Even though the concept of loyalty programs has been pervasive in modern society, it resonates differently across generations, geographies, and cultures. Read More

Digital payments have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives, and this trend is global. Convenience and security are key factors when users choose a specific payment application to meet their needs. However, cultural nuances impact the ways in which service providers prioritize these factors, leading to differences in their product offerings and user experiences.

Traditionally, the Western world has prioritized security in payment systems, while the Eastern world has emphasized convenience. Although this might seem like a generalization, it captures common trends in different markets and highlights the diversity in user experiences. Read More