Research & Insights
Before localising any global content to a new market, it is essential to have in-depth insights into its target audience and the local market’s intricate qualities in an ideal setting. What are the cultural and linguistic differences? What sort of visual and verbal aesthetic will appeal to the audiences while maintaining a consistent brand identity? The following will show my thinking process for this task.
Logotype
When localizing our logotype, we considered whether the translated brand name would be culturally and linguistically appropriate by consulting local language experts. In India's case, both English and Hindi are the official languages in India. There are many regional dialects in India that English remains the country’s only common language. However, that’s not to say that we should rule out the possibility of translating the logotype into Hindi because a large Indian population speaks Hindi. I recommended to roll out the Instagram post with the logo in English with the possibility of having a Hindi version of the logotype if the translated name would be deemed market appropriate. Also, the benefit of using the English version of the logotype, which is the same as the global version, will maintain brand equity. We approached Korea based on a similar hypothesis. However, Japan would need a much more localized experience.
Typography
For the global expansion initiatives in Korea and Japan, we considered different fonts for both languages for our product. We looked at the characteristics of our fonts to minimise the chance that our UIs might break in different locales. One of the most important aspects is font height.
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) characters have a very significant effect on the visual length of a phrase. They certainly will affect our hero design. These characters are more visually complex that they may need to appear larger than an English font in order to be easily read. This can alter the look of a page. We wanted to maintain Epidemic's brand impression across all of our markets as well as simplify and future-proof further global expansion efforts.
Branded Template
The branded template has already been set up to maintain brand consistency from typography, colours, and logo placement. However, we should consider the elements within the template where we can tailor to suit the local market’s needs. For example:
• Language versions for the Logotype
• Culturally appropriate visuals, language and tonality
• Strategic content that is relevant and aspirational to the target audience in the local market
How to localise the branded template
Below is an example of how the localization of the Epidemic Sound brand can appear in one of the expansion markets. Besides the logotype, typography, and content, in other words our messaging, imagery is another important aspect to consider.
