Should we consider outside cultures when designing?
Tuesday’s Design Idea for Successful Graphic Designers
One of the first rules in graphic design is always “know your audience”.
There’s one problem with that: you never know who’s going to look at your design. Nifty little thing called globalization.
With the click of a mouse, your website or layout can be seen all over the world. It can go viral in a matter of hours.
Should be this be taken into account when designing?
Designing in a global world:
It may be impossible to predict who exactly will be looking at your work, but there is a way of ensuring that you aren’t stepping on any toes. Be courteous!
- Don’t make fun of other cultures / ethnics (think of the commotion caused by the ads of the Spanish basketball team squinting their eyes)
- Don’t poke fun at common held beliefs
- Stay away from mocking politics and religion
- Avoid using stereotypes
- Don’t bring up history’s sour points: don’t make historical references to touchy subjects
- Don’t make fun of past mistakes made from a group (some may be sensitive)
- No personal attacks to any group or famous person
T A K E A W A Y S :
It’s impossible to learn every nuisance of every culture, and then create designs that deal with all of them.
You should always design for your primary audience. Just be aware that others might be seeing it too. So, use some common sense and courtesy when designing.
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