Multilingual Scaling

Serve your customers, in any language

Creating experiences that translate seamlessly in any language requires an intentional design process.

“[Government must focus on] ensuring the accessibility of services for customers with limited English proficiency to advance equity.”

2021 Federal Executive Order on Customer Experience and Service Delivery

Insights + Recommendations

Write for a 6th grade reading level

Content should be written in English at a 6th grade reading level for more effective and accurate translation into supported languages.

Remove colloquial speach

Avoid phrases that are common to a singular language or culture. For example, “Let’s talk” would be a better option than “Let’s chat.”

Create UI patterns for RTL languages

Right-to-left languages sometimes require interface layouts to adjust. Plan for button positioning and text alignment to shift within your design system.

Format dates and content for multiple languages

Dates should be written with the full month spelled out, followed by the date and full four-digit year. This way, it always translates appropriately across languages. Any structured content should be considered in this way.

Establish strong visual branding cues

Many non-English speakers rely on visual information to orient them online. Strong visual branding reminds customers that they are in the right place and can trust the information provided.

Be mindful of character count

Languages use varying alphabets, character styles, and sentence syntax. What may appear like a short phrase in English may need to wrap several lines of text in another language.

Plan technical infrastructure

Implement a robust technical infrastructure capable of supporting multilingual content delivery. This may involve content management systems, language detection tools, and localization features to customize the user experience based on language preferences.

Translation quality

Invest in high-quality translation services to ensure accuracy, consistency, and clarity across all languages. Review translations regularly and incorporate feedback from native speakers to maintain quality standards.

Our Approach

Addressing multi language considerations throughout each step of the design process ensures the delivery of successful services that cater to diverse linguistic communities.

Language-accessible design elements, page titles, and instructional copy

Multilingual usability research and testing

Language audits and analysis

Guidance on copy-writing and content / data structures for multilingual audiences

Flexible interface design for right-to-left languages

Methods

Thoughtful work begins with clearly defined objectives and selecting the right methods.

User research and testing

User/customer insights gathering and analysis

Human-centered UX/UI/CX

Scalable design systems

Multilingual interface

Content strategy

Content audits and analysis

Content guidelines

Multilingual content strategy

UX writing

Tone, voice, and reading levels

Content governance and workflows

Content migration strategy

Design systems

Scalable information architecture and navigation

Documentation and usage guidelines

IT modernization

Technology stack evaluation and selection

Data management strategy

Related Work

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