Adventuring in Europe: Marketing Perspective
“Sprichst du Englisch?” “Parlez vous anglais?” “Beszélsz angolul?”
Do you speak English? Walking around Europe, I glimpsed a world of words, ads, signs everywhere I didn’t understand. Being a first-time foreigner, my perspective changed in a instant on how I approach design and content.
As a web developer, my job is to build a product that is usable. That’s the essence of my job. Traveling in a place with few words I recognize, the importance of symbols I could understand become forefront (and of course Google Translate). In Spain, Germany, and Hungary, without knowing the mother tongue, I was clueless on what was being advertised and sometimes so confused where to go, especially using public transit. I came to the realization as a developer I rely too heavily on words to convey my message.
In my new found “worldly” perspective, I now critique my creations from the perspective of a foreigner in a distant land. I ask myself, “Can I understand the message without the words?”. Do I have a symbol or graphic on this page that is recognizable or that tells the story?
I am interested in how you convey your message without words?
