Multilingual design – our top 14 tested tips for marketing in different languages
These days you’ll be hard pressed to find a workplace that doesn’t have people of different cultures and languages – this is why multilingual design is an essential.
We’re in an increasingly connected world where the power of language in bridging divides cannot be overstated. You may have heard of a quote by Nelson Mandela which says: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
This is especially true in brand and communications, where the right words can either open doors or build walls. This is why multilingual design is key for marketing and communicating to people from different languages and cultures.
As a creative agency working with over 25 countries, our work is varied and interesting. We often work with large workforces, who could be spread over different countries, or who speak different languages.
We are often asked to design documents in other languages, mainly French and Portuguese (but we’ve done work in German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Setswana too!).
So embracing multilingual design is not just about translating words; it's about creating connections.
With the following seven tips, we aim to guide you through the intricacies of multi-lingual design, ensuring your message resonates across cultural and linguistic barriers.
Why multilingual design? Do you need to design in different languages?
There are around 7,000 languages spoken on earth. Let that sink in … seven thousand! Obviously we can't communicate in all of them, but it's important that we don't limit our communications to a single language or we're going to be missing a lot of people.
So we look at the main languages. For example English is considered the ‘lingua franca*’ in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, but French and Portuguese have very strong influences too. And these are just the key languages of a region that has over 2,000!
Our top tips for multilingual design
1. Understanding Your Audience
Understanding the languages your audience speaks is the first step towards effective multilingual design. It's not just about the words they use, but also understanding their cultural nuances, which greatly influence their perception and interaction with your content.
Imagine the story of Michael. He’s a mine worker whose understanding of English is very limited. Michael was shown health and safety campaigns available in English – a language he barely understands.
Michael is regularly in a high-risk environment where his decisions affect the safety of not only him, but his co-workers. Fatality is a real risk.
The consequences of Michael misunderstanding safety instructions in such a high-risk environment can be dire and lead to serious accidents. This story highlights not just the importance of translating materials but ensuring the translation is accurate, clear, and culturally appropriate.
So you need to understand your audience and tailor your communications to them. (Ps. we have a great solution to having pre-made health and safety campaigns which we can produce in the language of your choice).
2. Choosing the Right Languages
Selecting the languages to include in your communication strategy should be a thoughtful process. It's not merely about the number of speakers globally but about your specific audience.
For instance, if a lot of your workforce comes from Franc, or Francophile countries, then French should be among your primary languages. This strategic selection ensures your efforts in multilingual design are both efficient and impactful.
3. Consistent Brand Messaging Across Languages
Consistency is key in brand messaging. But it's a common pitfall in designing in different languages. A playful message in English might not strike the same chord in Japanese. So, the challenge is to maintain your brand's voice and message across all languages. This requires a deep understanding of cultural contexts. It's crucial to adapt your message to maintain its essence across languages with respect to cultures, ensuring a uniform brand experience.
4. Professional Translation Services
Relying on professional translation services can prevent such potentially dangerous misunderstandings.
Here is a real example. A client of ours was submitting a large tender – the type of project that would change the shape and future of their company. It needed to be submitted in two languages, and they chose a local team member to translate.
We designed hundreds of pages of documents in both languages and celebrated when it was submitted. Then, the company they were tendering to came back with a query … it turns out that a sentence that was mean to say how they had a strong logistics network across the territory, it said they had a strong drugs distribution network!
If they had used a professional translation service, not only would have this error been avoided, but a proof-reader would have picked it up. Luckily for them, the nature of the error was obvious (and humorous) so it didn’t have disastrous consequences, but it could have.
5. Designing for Language Variability
Languages vary not just in words, but in length, direction, and complexity. Design flexibility is therefore essential in multilingual design. A layout that looks perfect in English might be cramped in German or misaligned in Arabic. Designing with language variability in mind means creating adaptable layouts that can accommodate these differences gracefully, ensuring a seamless user experience regardless of language.
6. Localising Content Beyond Translation
Localisation goes a step beyond translation, adapting your content to fit the cultural context of each audience. It's the difference between offering a generic greeting and a warm welcome that feels homegrown.
Localisation considers local customs, cultural references, and even humour, making your content truly resonate with each segment of your audience. It's about making everyone feel seen and valued, regardless of their language.
7. Testing with Multilingual Users
Finally, the proof is always in the pudding. Testing your designs with multilingual users offers invaluable insights into how your content is perceived across different languages (see our note above about professional translators.
This feedback loop can uncover issues you might not have anticipated, from cultural misinterpretations to simple translation errors. Regular testing ensures your multilingual design remains effective, relevant, and engaging.
Top tips for designing in different languages
These are a few things to consider for design in different languages.
Knowing from the outset that the document will be translated into a foreign language helps immensely in the graphic design. This allows your designer make the necessary allocations right from the beginning – thus saving time and money. This will be taken into account when doing the English version so that the fonts do not have to be changed to accommodate the foreign language thereby keeping your documents looking as similar as possible.
Allow for text expansion
A lot of languages expand longer than English, so sufficient space needs to be allocated (sometimes a slight re-design needs to be done). English to German translations can require up to 35% more space!
Choose the right font
Make sure the font family you use carries all the accents needed. Getting the accents right is extremely important. Leaving out an accent could change the entire word and sometimes the sentence.
Be culturally sensitive
Be aware of the cultural aspects of the language and of the region/country. This plays out in the tone, images, and colours of the cultures you are appealing to. So make sure the images used reflect the culture you are appealing to. Make sure to research and plan the colours used. Different colours mean different things to different cultures. Read more about this on our “"Colour psychology in branding" article.
Be dialect aware
Make sure the correct dialect is used (eg do not to use Brazilian Portuguese for Mozambique as they do not speak that dialect of Portuguese).
Use the right special characters
Some languages require special symbols / characters (non-Latin alphabets). Make sure you are using these correctly as they may look similar but mean different things.
Multilingual design needs proofing, proofing and more proofing!
Your content needs to be approved in final before translation by a designated team member on your side. And again, approved post-translation by a proofreader checking it against the original. And finally before it is distributed, in case something has shifted. It is extremely difficult to make changes in a language your design team are not familiar with.
Choose your source carefully
Do not trust ANY online automated translator like Google Translate. We only recommend using a human translator native in the language required. They will know how to set the correct tone, use the language’s unique nuances and correct colloquialism to set it in the correct context.
Incorporating these tips into your multilingual design strategy can significantly enhance your ability to connect with a global audience. It's about recognising the diversity of your users and honouring their languages and cultures with thoughtful, well-crafted content. In doing so, you not only broaden your reach but also build deeper, more meaningful connections with your audience around the world.
As part of a global community, let's remember that communication is more than just sharing information; it's about building understanding. Through effective multilingual design, we have the power to bridge divides, foster inclusion, and create a more connected world. Let's make every word count.
