Theme: cultural dimensions and design
In Class Activities
Activity 1: cultural studies presentation
Activity 2: creating our own cultural model
Quotes
…to be able to design user interfaces for the global market that can adapt to the cultural needs of the user automatically, the first step is to find out the differences in the cultural needs of the users…
Gasparini
This quote was pulled from a passage about how hCI deals with culture issues. I picked out this quote specifically because it is a good reminder of what we need to do when designing for a global market. We need to do research to uncover differences and not use our assumptions.
Interface designers need to think about ways to reduce alienation and cultural bias in software that, by design, cuts across national and cultural boundaries. Incorporating cultural values into our design practices is a good way to start.
Gould
This was a reading that was filled with so many different guides to interface design. There was work from Hofstede, Hall, and Trompenaars mentioned in this reading, but they were only just three of the many ideas named. When it comes to adding cultural values into design, there are so many factors to consider, and each of the guides in Gould’s paper looks at different perspectives of value.
Akpem
“Slow Messaging refers to the speed that people expect things to happen and this does vary across cultures.”
I wouldn’t have thought there would be a culture that accepts slow messaging since we live in a society that’s all about fast-paced lifestyle and high productivity. I know that I’m someone that likes to reply and receive responses rather quickly to get things done.
Explorations
The Slow Messaging vs. Fast Messaging in the Akpem reading made me think of a reading I did recently for one of my other classes: What I Learned on Change Islands by Phoebe Sengers. In Sengers’ article, she compared her time at Change Islands versus her life in a metropolitan US city. She talked about the slow messaging versus fast messaging because life on Change Islands is laidback and a slower pace. Residents there aren’t finding ways to do things efficiently; instead, they do things how they have always done and make time for community.
I wanted to gain a better understanding of low context versus high context cultures and communication. I found this case study of Finland, Japan, and India. http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/nishimuranevgitella299.pdf
I find it interesting that Edward T. Hall is the one who came up with high context versus low context and was mentioned in the Gould reading as well. In the Gould reading, I was able to learn more about Hall’s approach into cultural models and how he did his research to have this dimension of low context versus high context.
Professional Inspiration
If I end up working at a company that has a global component/team/system, I want to incorporate the idea of low context versus high context cultural communication into my process as a UX Researcher as my main role is to understand the users better.
Sketch
Hannah's Process Book 