Fitting Fitbit to Brazil
You’re 22, Brazilian, and want to join over 60 million Brazilian users in tracking health and fitness via an app or a wearable [1,2]. You buy a Fitbit, and you’re so excited about it that you buy your dad one, too [3]. You receive the product and are at the first step of completing the install: choosing your language. You scan the list in Figure 1, only to realize Fitbit has left out your country and your language [4].

You can manage because you learned English, but your dad did not, rendering the product unusable for him. The Fitbit service representative invites you to contribute your voice to a forum of people with similar complaints and promises you they will process your request [3]. The earliest complaint on the forum is from 2016, but it’s 2019 and still no Portuguese [3].
The above story encourages looking beyond just numbers into the cultural competency of the object. 29% of the overall population in Brazil uses fitness wearables regularly, but the numbers hide the Brazilians who are unable to translate their app into their native language [2]. These individuals are either forced to consider another wearable or struggle through translation. These struggles highlight the importance of localization and adapting an app to create a similar experience in different cultures. Translating the language is the bare minimum of localization, but often includes culturally appropriate designs [5]. By localizing, companies can ensure the product gives positive user experiences specific to a user’s location.
In an effort to give Brazilian Fitbit users a similar experience as their global counterparts, I redesigned two Fitbit app interface screens to be culturally appropriate.
The Current Screens
I wanted to translate the US version of the Fitbit app into screens that would complement Brazilian culture. To do this, I started with two basic screens from the US Fitbit app, as shown in Figure 2.


The home screen (left) is shown immediately when the app is opened. It highlights steps taken, floors climbed, miles, calories, active time, sleep, and exercise [6]. The discover page (right) provides inspiration for Fitbit users [7].
Research
I began researching Brazilian fitness, health, nutrition and culture to understand what should be included in a fitness app. My full research can be found in Figure 3, but the highlights are summarized below.
Cultural Context
At the time of the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016, Brazil was projected to have the same obesity rate as the United States in the upcoming years [8]. Spurred on by the global attention, the Brazilian government implemented initiatives that encouraged balanced and healthy food diets as well as regular exercise [8]. This encouragement unintentionally created the second largest gym industry in the world, and thus Brazil’s “gym culture” began [9]. Since then, the obesity rate has stayed well below the rate of the United States and exercise has become part of Brazilian culture.
My research findings can be divided into two main sections: data which informed interface content and data which informed interface design.
Content Design
In general, Brazilians exercise both to stay healthy and to get the desired Brazilian beach body [8]. The highest compliment for both women’s and men’s bodies is “You look strong,” and Brazilians praise strength and health over skinniness [8]. To respect societal values, the content should support strength instead of weight.
Both indoor and outdoor gyms are extremely popular, and memberships are priced competitively so they are accessible to most city dwellers [10]. Volleyball, soccer, and any beach activities are other popular ways to stay fit [11]. Brazilian culture emphasizes social interaction, and sports are valued as a way to get exercise and create relationships [11]. The content should reflect this and support counting multiple forms of exercise.
Hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are of main concern to the Brazilian government who has been trying to discourage a sedentary lifestyle and reduce obesity rates around the country [12]. The health aspects of the content should reflect this focus on heart health and blood pressure.
User Interface Design
According to cultural theorist Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Brazil has a high Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), and a low Individualism index (IDV) [13]. Based on Gasparini, Pimento, and De Oliveira’s interpretation of these measures, culturally appropriate interfaces for Brazil should have clear navigation, bold colors, images that emphasize groups, and a friendly interface [13, 14].
Based on color symbolism from Global Color: Clues and Taboos, Brazilians find muted colors boring, purple symbolizes mourning and death, and yellow means despair in more traditional areas [15]. Therefore, my redesigns need to avoid yellow and purple due to potentially harmful interpretations and encourage bold colors.
Redesigns
Based on my research findings, I created sketches of two interface screens that are culturally appropriate for Brazil.
The Landing Page
Figure 4 shows my design for the landing page. The number labels are call-outs that are described in more detail in this section.

- Counting steps as the main tracker in the US version is replaced by a total activity time counter. There is a large gym culture in Brazil, and lifting weights does not add to steps [8]. Total activity time supports the wide variety of exercise Brazilians do [10].
- Again to support the variety of exercise activities, the floors, miles, calories, and active minutes measures on the US version have been replaced by different activities. Logging total time spent going to the gym, playing a sport, walking, or dancing respects the wide definition of exercise that Brazilians have [10]. It also encourages participation in the local culture by encouraging such an integral piece of Brazilian life: dancing [16].
- The heart rate tracker in the US version is replaced by a BMI (IMC in Portuguese) tracker in the Brazilian version. Brazil emphasizes strength as the main measure of fitness, and having a low BMI can be used to measure strength while also providing data to help the user reach their Brazilian beach body if they desire to [8,16]. Blood pressure is a source of main concern for Brazilians, but currently Fitbit does not have blood pressure technology so I was forced to exclude it from my interface.
- The ability to see the activity of friends reinforces the importance of friendships and relationships [11]. Seeing friends’ data can also open doors on new sports and workouts that can be done together.
- The ability to log meals per day is the last functionality on the landing page and supports the government’s attention to eating healthy [8]. The Brazilian diet is not focused on calories or specific foods, but rather balance and home cooked meals that enable social interaction [17]. They typically have three meals a day, and my design affords that [17].
- Following the suggestions of Global Color: Clues & Taboos, I used bold colors and avoided yellow and purple in the user interface. I used orange, green, and fuchsia because of their energy, color, and tropical vibe that matches Brazilian life and climate [15]. Although lighter in the screenshots, upon implementation the background colors would be more prominent. I chose to shade instead of color the background for my sketches to allow for legibility on smaller text.
- The language has been changed from English to Portuguese, the predominant language in Brazil [1]. Since Brazil is a diverse country, if a user speaks another language they can use the normal Fitbit channels to change the language [4].
The Discover Page
Figure 5 shows my design for the discover page. The number labels are call-outs that are described in more detail in this section.

- Volleyball, soccer, and other beach sports are popular in Brazil because of their intensity and social aspect [16]. Therefore, I replaced the ability to plan workouts in the US version with the ability to find new pickup games and new sports teams.
- I replaced the health and fitness stats section in the US version with the ability to find upcoming festivals. Dancing, festivals and music are both an integral part of Brazilian culture and a form of exercise, and my design encourages these cultural experiences [16].
- The third tile on the Discover page is nutritional recipes. Food bonds Brazilian society together, and home-cooked meals are encouraged because they promote social interaction [17]. For this reason, my app encourages healthy, home cooked meals to compliment fitness and the Brazilian collectivist culture.
- All three Discover tiles have visually distinct Call to Action (CTA) buttons because of Brazil’s high UAI [13]. This creates a clear navigation pattern and next steps for the user to take.
- The pictures used for the sports and festival tiles show group images because a collectivist culture prefers images that emphasize group activities and relationships [14].
Ending Thoughts
Overall, my redesigns are suggestions of one way the Fitbit interface could be adapted to fit Brazil’s culture. The largest roadblock for me was learning about Brazilian fitness without experiencing it, because I had trouble imagining what I would want my Fitbit to measure during that activity. I overcame this by doing as much research as possible into the different Brazilian workouts and different contexts they happen in. I also struggled with creating a bold user interface. My design skills lie in minimalism with few colors, so it was a unique challenge to create an interface with vivid and many colors. I overcame this by creating sketches of my interfaces before my final drafts.
In the future, I would love to test my interfaces with Brazilian users to get feedback. Understanding what design decisions were appreciated and which ones were misunderstood would help me in future endeavors of interface localization.
References
[1] The World Factbook: Brazil. (2018, February 1). Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html.
[2] Growth from Knowledge. (2016, September). Health and Fitness Tracking. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.gfk.com/fileadmin/user_upload/website_content/Images/Global_Study/Fitness_tracking/Documents/Global-GfK-survey_Health-Fitness-Monitoring_2016_final.pdf.
[3] Unavailable country and language. (Brazil — Portuguese). (n.d.). Fitbit Community. Retrieved 24 October 2019, from https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Android-App/Unavailable-country-and-language-Brazil-Portuguese/td-p/2763180.
[4] Fitbit. (n.d.). Fitbit.com. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.fitbit.com/.
[5] Quesenbery, W., & Szuc, D. (2012). Global Ux: design and research in a connected world, Chapter 9: Design for a Global Audience. Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.
[6] Bhutani, D. (2019, August 9). How to set up a Fitbit. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-setup-fitbit-1014124/.
[7] A screenshot taken by me from my own Fitbit app. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
[8] DiBiase, L. (2019, March 20). Economies of the Fittest: Brazil Leading Latin America’s Fitness Revolution. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://labs.ebanx.com/en/articles/ecommerce/economies-of-the-fittest-brazil-leading-latin-americas-fitness-revolution/.
[9] Farah, A. G. V. (2013, January 30). The Gym Industry in Brazil. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/the-gym-industry-in-brazil.
[10] Aetna. (n.d.). A guide to well-being in Brazil. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.aetnainternational.com/en/individuals/destination-guides/expat-guide-to-brazil/wellbeing-guide.html.
[11] Cultural Atlas. (n.d.). Brazilian Culture. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/brazilian-culture.
[12] Lotufo, & Andrade, P. (2017, December). Lowering blood pressure is a priority in Brazil and worldwide. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-31802017000600509.
[13] Hofstede Insights. (n.d.). Compare countries. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/.
[14] I. Gasparini, M. S. Pimenta, and J. P. M. De Oliveira, ‘Vive la difference!: a survey of cultural-aware issues in HCI,” Vive la difference!: a survey of cultural-aware issues in HCI, 2011.
[15] Morton, Jim. (2008). Global Color: Clues & Taboos. COLORCOM, 2004. Retrieved October 24, 2019 from Hanafi, Z Canvas page.
[16] What Brazil Can Teach The World About Living Well. (2017, December 7). Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-brazil-can-teach-the_0_n_4662253.
[17] Belluz, J. (2015, February 20). Brazil has the best nutritional guidelines in the world. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from https://www.vox.com/2015/2/20/8076961/brazil-food-guide.

