.png)
There is a reason why technology solutions have evolved the way they have. It's known as digital anthropology. At the intersection of cultural anthropology and the digital realm, lies the study of how people use and interpret technology. Digital anthropology considers the context and environment of a specific social group. It explains why different countries and social groups use and relate to technology in slightly different ways, based on their digital experiences. As a result, the anthropological study of the human-digital-era technology relationship is a growing phenomenon in designing software solutions and driving user-friendly innovations.
Developers use computational tools and algorithms to analyse substantial amounts of data, gathered from a field site or by studying online social communities and social networks, to develop a better user experience (UX). There are, however, numerous challenges in developing human-centred technology. Understanding the people who will use IT products is vital when designing them. Without it, products fail and are unable to reach the majority of the world's users, and failing to acknowledge such a large audience is a common pitfall when diversifying technology.
Cross-cultural Design
Designers at multinational companies frequently collaborate with geographically diverse teams. They also work on digital products for global consumption for clients all over the world. Designers, however, often continue to live in a bubble and tend to focus only on their local culture, traditions, and language, oblivious to the larger world. Cross-cultural design presents undeniably complex challenges, both linguistic and cultural. Most designers mistakenly believe that designing products for different cultures entails simply translating the language, switching currencies, and updating a few images to represent the local culture. The path to successful cross-cultural design with excellent UX is far more difficult and fraught with pitfalls.
Being inclusive and aware of the audience's needs and expectations pays off in multiple ways. Localization and cultural adaptation of a product may appear to be an unnecessary amount of work. However, as consumers become savvier, it allows brands to authentically meet the needs of customers all over the world. Furthermore, the commercial value of localization is surprisingly high. Localization has a potential return on investment of $25 for every dollar spent, according to the Localization Industry Standards Association. There is clearly a sufficient commercial ROI (Return On Investment) for cross-cultural design.
It is common knowledge that when advertisements and websites are personalised, user conversion rates go up. When multinational brands with a global presence, such as Netflix or IKEA, have been working through specialised teams to create a cross-cultural design environment that encourages their users in various regions to adopt and connect to the services they provide, it only makes sense for the rest of the world to follow their lead.
Creative Software Design
There was a time when a company's competitive advantage could be based on superior product features and functions or a well-honed service advantage. No longer. The business landscape is changing as digitisation causes greater and faster disruptions, and customers increasingly want immediacy, personalisation, and convenience. The signs have been prevalent for some time. Technologies frequently compound each other's effects, resulting in unpredictable dynamism and speed of innovation. Manufacturers of smartphones used to focus on features and functions as selling points. Today, the emphasis is entirely on style, lifestyle, and ease of use. These pervade the customer experience and define the product's value proposition.
Some industries are more affected than others by the evolving convergence of products, services, and environments. Revenue in the Creative Software segment is projected to reach $4.49bn in 2023. Telecommunications, automotive, and consumer-product companies have already begun their convergence journey, while insurance, banking, and energy lag behind. Understanding how this phenomenon is evolving can assist businesses in preparing for competitive opportunities and challenges. For all the money companies spend on R&D, there is often a persistent and troubling gap between the inherent value of the technology they develop and their ability to effectively put it to use. The developers of the new process (especially when it is computer software) frequently know their tools very well, but they rarely understand the end-users processes.
Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process used by teams to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative prototypes and tests. Design thinking is an art as well as a science. As a methodology, it provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It’s extremely useful when used to tackle complex problems that are ill-defined or unknown—because it serves to understand the human needs involved, reframe the problem in human-centric ways, create numerous ideas in brainstorming sessions and adopt a hands-on approach to prototyping and testing. It is important for future designers because it allows them to think about the user's needs and how to design for them. It also allows designers to come up with creative solutions to problems and to think outside the box.
The Future of Tech
Companies have a clear vision of where they want to go. They want to be more agile, responsive, and effective. They want to provide excellent customer service, use new technologies to reduce costs, improve quality and transparency, and create value. The issue is that, while most businesses strive to improve, the results are often disappointing. Companies must commit to a next-generation operating model to create value and provide compelling customer experiences at minimised expenses. A new way of running the organisation that integrates digital technologies and operations capabilities in a well-sequenced, integrated manner to achieve improvements in revenue, customer experience, and expenditure.
Inclusive design considers the entire spectrum of human diversity, including ability, language, culture, gender, age, and other forms of human variability. It enables designers to create products that benefit as many people as possible. The primary goal of a UX designer is and should always be accessibility. Inclusive design is important for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is that it improves the user experience for a diverse audience. It contributes to the creation of an experience in which users feel included rather than excluded. Inclusionary design can also help a brand establish itself as a market leader. Consumers will notice if organisations practise inclusive design and provide equal access and opportunity. Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer to support companies that stand for a purpose while mindfully avoiding those who don’t.
Furthermore, inclusive UX design is beneficial to SEO and a great way to increase organic traffic. Search engines value user experiences that are inclusive in their design. As a result, by including alt text for images, closed captions in videos, and descriptive link text, a company's page may be ranked higher than pages that do not. Finally, inclusive design could very well increase sales by making the user experience available to a larger and more diverse consumer base. Human-centred design provides a more comprehensive and user-driven approach to problem-solving and development.
Comments