If you like this, You’ll love These.

• No Related Posts

With the online virtual world, metaphors are used to bring meaning to the bits of information that lie behind it. Ones and zeroes become scroll bars, buttons, menus, arrows, checkouts, shopping trolleys…things that we each recognize from our own real-life experiences.

But given that our culture affects what our real-life experiences are, it goes without saying that web designers need to be wary of the end target audience – specifically, where in the world they are.

A web user in the UK or US might run a mile when presented with a flashy ‘bells and whistles’ website that seems at first to be more about look than substance. But a same-age, same-gender surfer from Asia might be rather impressed. The golden rule of cross cultural web design is ‘never assume’…always research local tastes and cultures fully.

The instant a website is uploaded onto a server for public consumption, it can be accessed by anyone from the seven continents (and yes, that includes Antarctica…). So unless your website is intended purely for ‘local access’, there are some simple measures you can take to maximize the ‘globality’ of your web pages.

Practical issues: getting up to speed

Image Credit: www.shutterstock.com

Although high-speed internet access is on the rise across the globe, it isn’t as ubiquitous as you might think. Many countries in Africa, South America and even the Middle East aren’t yet wired up to the high-speed internet, meaning that heavy graphics and flash animations can preclude surfers in these countries from accessing your pages…unless they’re prepared to hang around and wait for any images to load properly.

That’s not to say you should therefore only ever build text-based websites…far from it. A simple workaround here would be to provide the option of a simple HTML version for those still on slow internet. Everyone is then happy.

Tailored design

Image Credit: www.shutterstock.com

Color preference is entirely subjective. Some people love loud, garish color schemes. Others may prefer more natural shades. The bottom line is you can’t please everyone with your website design. You can, however, look at the broader spectrum of your target audience and establish what is likely to be best received.

Sharp, clean designs are often the preferred option in the West, with muted color palettes (e.g. check Royal Bank of Scotland website). An equivalent site from the East (e.g. Bank of India) reveals a brighter color scheme with embedded flash files for effects.

Your choice of color should reflect your offering and your target market. And if you have any doubts as to the color scheme, simply have a look at similar websites in your target market.

Cultural awareness

Image Credit: www.shutterstock.com

This may be obvious, but it’s worth saying anyway. Some imagery simply isn’t acceptable in certain cultures: a liberally-clothed lady on your website may work well for Western audiences, but it’s likely to offend and repel many users from more conservative cultures. So it’s best to avoid any overt or inferred sexual imagery or references on your site. The same applies to any other potential divisive graphics, whether it’s related to religion, gender, age or nationality.

Target market tongues

Image Credit: www.shutterstock.com

The textual content of any website is probably the most important aspect. Whilst an eye-catching, funky design will draw attention, only quality content will ensure users return.

Only a quarter of the world’s population speak English – well over 90% of whom do so as a second language. With that in mind, if you’re serious about tapping into international markets, you’re best to have your website translated into your target market’s tongues.

At the design stage of your website, opt for Unicode (UTF-8), which is compatible with over 90 written languages and is supported by all the common browsers and operating systems. So even if your website starts its life in English only, it’s easier to adapt to other languages, as Unicode can work in characters from the non-English alphabet.

And there you have it. Culture plays an important part in how people view both the physical and virtual worlds, which is why web designers must carefully consider their target markets.

If you like this, You’ll love These.

• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 10/23/2008
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 10/03/2008
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 09/25/2008
• #WDNDL For 03/15/2010 – Monday Web Design Inspirations, Tutorials, and Freebies!
• #WDNDL For 3/01/2010 – Giveaways, CSS Tips, Inspirational Logos & Freebies!
• #WDNDL For 12/02/2009 – HTML 5 Resources, Design & Coding Tips, News & Inspiration!

If you like this, You’ll love These.

• Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 3/27/2009 – #followfriday & Tutorial Edition
• Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 3/24/2009 – HUGE POST – Usability Edition!
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 2/20/2009
• Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 3/21/2009 – HUGE POST!
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 10/23/2008
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 2/06/2009

If you like this, You’ll love These.

• Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 3/27/2009 – #followfriday & Tutorial Edition
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 10/23/2008
• Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 3/21/2009 – HUGE POST!
• Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 3/24/2009 – HUGE POST – Usability Edition!
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 2/20/2009
• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 2/04/2009

Well this week I had a unique opportunity to interview the author of the book, as well as review it!

So without further ado, lets dive into the review – and then I will talk with Alex Mathers so you get to know him a little better!

Review: 10 Steps to Powerful Online Self-Promotion for Creatives

My first impression of the book was a bit mixed. I had never heard of Alex before seeing this book pop up everywhere – so I was a bit skeptical. Since there are a lot of people out there that think they have the ’secret formula’ but really they just want to grab a quick buck off you.

Well going through this book (its a pretty big book btw) I noticed a lot of these things I already knew – but I had to learn it on my own, the hard way, through trial and error and just plain ole perseverance.

Self promotion is hard work.

It is definitely no easy feat to get your name out there, and while there is no secret formula for success, this book has a lot of great tips that the people just starting out really should know. The tips found in this book will help you save a lot of time and frustration if you are truly serious about yourself and your business.

If you are determined to make your mark on the world, then the tips in this book will probably help you get there a little quicker than if you tried to figure it out all by yourself. But if you are looking for a book that is going to do it all for you, then you’ll never find that.

Conclusion

I enjoyed reading the book, it had a lot of things in it that I thought would be perfect for someone starting out. It may not be the best thing for someone who has been doing this for 10+ years, but it would still be a good refresher.

So I say go ahead and buy it if you are looking for this kind of thing – It definitely won’t hurt you.

Now onto the interview with the man behind this great self-promotion hand book!

Interview with Alex Mathers

1. Tell us about yourself!

I am an illustrator and designer living in London, UK right now. I’m a fan of war films, obscure electronic music, writing, Japanese things and contemporary design. I currently run two sites.

One is Red Lemon Club, a site for creative professionals aimed at sharing various methods and discussions on online self promotion. Ape on the Moon, my other site, is a blog showcasing the best in contemporary illustration styles and techniques, featuring a host of excellent illustrators. I also contribute to Design Taxi and am about to join the contributing team at productivity for creatives site: the 99%.

2. I must say your book has gotten a lot of attention lately, for good reason! What was your motivation behind it?

The book was a result of the site that I set up: Red Lemon Club, which was set up to focus my own efforts as an illustrator of researching the best online methods and theories behind effective and up to date self promotion, aimed specifically at creatives. The site was built to share what I found with the creative community, and I get a nice sense of satisfaction doing it. I hadn’t seen anything like that when I was going about promoting my own work, so Red Lemon Club and the book was the result of me scratching my own itch.

The book was written with the intention of dramatically improving the self promotional effectiveness of all kinds of creative professionals.

3. What is your typical workday like?

I’m definitely a night worker, so will tend to take some time getting into a working momentum during the course of a day after I’ve rolled out of bed. I’ll get up pretty late, but then go to bed very late.

I’m more productive when there are fewer distractions around where I live, and that is best in the evening and night.

4. How did you get started on Illustration and Self Promotion?

Apart from learning a little art at school, I’m not formally trained in illustration. I studied geography at university, although I decided to return to my interest in art and design a while after completing the course and working in the property industry. You might see some geographical influences coming into the work I do. I taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator whenever I had a spare moment in my free time, and went full time as a freelancer about a year ago.

Learning about self promotion and sharing it on Red Lemon Club has been an inevitable result of trying to market my own designs and illustrations, and I must say, I’ve learnt a lot!

5. Any tips for new Illustrators trying to get their name out?

My main tip would be to focus on standing out in your industry. Look for ways to make what you do jump out from the rest. Once you achieve this, then your promotional efforts will become much easier.

Also make sure you have some kind of time you set aside each day/week for marketing your work, and write these days down in a calendar that is visible on your wall. It’s easy to let marketing activities slide when you are not reminded of them on your wall.

6. What was your favorite recent project and why?

I had a fun time putting together a poster for Inspired Magazine that was part of a free giveaway for the site. I illustrated a spooky scene of a monster emerging out of a tar pit, in a similar style to those 1950s film posters, with a bit of a modern twist.

7. What other projects do you have going on?

I’m looking into growing my two sites further, expanding my illustration portfolio, promoting my book, working on music-making on the side and eventually possibly starting a book on promotion for specifically musicians.

8. Do you use a PC or a Mac?

Mac all the way

Hope you guys enjoyed the review and interview!

Leave some comments and let us know what you think, or if you have questions!

Thanks for reading everyone!

If you like this, You’ll love These.

• AndySowards.com :: Web Development Nerdy Daily Links For 10/23/2008
• #WDNDL For 6/30/2009 – CMS’s, jQuery, Textures, and CSS!
• #WDNDL For 9/03/2009 – Freelance, Blogging, Design, CSS Tips & Inspirations & Freebies!
• #WDNDL For 8/7/2009 – Freebies, Inspirations & Developer Stuff!
• #WDNDL For 7/08/2009 – Packaging, Logos, Login/Contact Page Inspirations & MORE!
• #WDNDL For 6/02/2009 – Logo Design Edition!