Global by Design

When it comes to web globalization and, in particular, global navigation, the general rule about flags is to avoid using them. By avoiding them, you avoid stepping into any number of politically sensitive issues. Nevertheless, companies love to use flags on their web sites. And sometimes the use of flags can result in some rather [...]

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A global gateway doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, it shouldn’t be fancy. It should be as easy to understand as a stop sign. Form and function and nothing else. You don’t want people getting confused, waiting for animation to load, or just missing it altogether. This happens all the time. The fashion house [...]

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The Visit Korea tourism web site offers up a global gateway that’s difficult to ignore: I like it. The languages are presented in the native scripts. The user has to select one before entering the site. Most of all, I like that the languages aren’t hidden behind a pull-down menu.

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It’s been awhile since I’ve written about global gateways – those landing pages and header elements that companies use to direct visitors to localized web sites. I came across one that I’ve been meaning to write about for some time — it’s the home page of a promotion Hyatt Hotels ran several months ago. The [...]

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Does this icon say “language” to you? It doesn’t to me. But the OMC design studio feels so strongly about it that it has launched a web site to promote this icon as a global standard. I applaud the effort and I fully agree that there is a need for such an icon, but I [...]

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