This is something that as a group we all have to consider when creating our videos. As well as the actual language used it is also necessary to look further than that and consider different colour theory for different countries and the eastern hemisphere. Therefore I decided to look at several sources to see if I could find some pointers and tips to point me in the right direction.
Designing for an International Audience
Although all these links are more related to web design it is also important to consider several elements relating to colour and also the specific audience within the different countries.
“Studies have shown blue to be the least offensive color for international audiences, which explains why so many websites use “corporate blue.””
“For example, on a dashboard widget in Western countries, green means great, red means danger. In China, those colors are reversed and have the exact opposite meaning because culturally, red is a sign of happiness and well being. White is typically a sign of purity, clarity and innocence, but again, in Asian cultures, it symbolizes death and mourning.”
This is very important to consider during my own design process making sure to use non bias and non threatening colours.
“The difference is obvious. Chinese audiences prefer a much more cluttered home page with loads of information cramped in, while English audiences prefer a cleaner interface with a few neat categorisations.”
Could this be true of Visual animated content as well and if so would this effect the Chinese market if we tried to simplify everything to cater for a solely western market?
Although I am not really involved with the call outs and translation of them into several different languages (outlined in the brief) I came across a website through doing this research. I have suggested in the group chat that google translate might not be the most effective and efficient way of collecting a wide range of translations in a short period of time. It is also risky as it is more often than not incorrect. More political blunders in the link below!
Why Relying on Google Translate is a Bad Idea
The website is called Phrase app and translates from within the app to help efficiency within international companies on a project by project level. Although this is not the purpose of our project the reliability and accuracy is a lot higher as this is a standalone platform.
Forget Google Translate 3 Ways to get Accurate Translations
I also found a few cheaper alternatives, however there is a free 14 day trial with phrase app which is all we need considering the project deadline is the 12th of May.
Digital Media Practice 2016-17 