Localization is the process of adapting content to a target audience. Some pieces of content are more intuitive than others to localize. For example text, product names or legal policies. Others are less obvious, for example soundtracks and images. In this article we are going to unveil image localization with practical and coincise examples
Why localizing images is crucial
When performing image localization, at first it might come to mind to translate caption text and words appearing inside the image. But there’s a lot more. Let’s take a shooted picture as an example. The colours, the brightness and the subject already bring many cards to the table. Then we can move to the second set: gestures, habits and values emerging from the image, as seen by an external eye.
The first set of elements plays a massive role in attracting or repelling your audience. Colours and brightness must meet the eye and convey who you are on a subliminal level. The prominent element of the picture will be associated with your brand and will impact your reputation.
Good companies use high quality pictures, properly localized for their audience. Even if the picture quality is good and it represents something fully aligned with your brand, the second set might completely turn the tide, as we are going to examine in the next paragraphs.
The role of colours
While taking care of image localization it’s important to be aware that colours play a different role in different cultures.
Here’s some useful tips and examples:
Adjust the colour spectrum to the one that performs best in the target culture. Asian cultures like bright colours: some of their websites and apps might look too shiny for us in the west. Red has different meaning in different cultures. In China it means joy, while in Japan it means danger and anger.
Try to have a look at commonly used websites and apps from a culture, and choose an image or a design that fits that culture.
The role of values
Here you can find some relevant tips and examples on how to evaluate gestures and values contained within an image:
- Do not overlook gestures that sound obvious to you: a thumb up gesture means a positive emotion in America and western cultures. But it means a negative one in middle eastern cultures.
- Habits considered normal in some cultures, might look deleterious in others. For example let’s take something as simple as a beer, symbol of sociability and relax. In arabic countries it’s seen as not acceptable and against the society.
- Symbols and associations change from culture to culture. Animals carry different meanings in different areas. Methaphor working with animals will more often than not, turn useless, due to cultural barriers.
- Esthethic values also differs heavily: a sexually neutral nude is inacceptable in muslim countries, while it might be okay to show it in western culture ads (soap ads, yogurt ads, and whatever).
- In conclusion keep an eye on the prominent religion of the target country, and when possible hire a localization specialist.
How to find alternatives to images
When you find an image that won’t work for a certain target, you should try to swap it for a neutral one, at least. You want to avoid your brand being associated with a negative feeling. When possible, call out for a positive one.
Let’s say you’re including some cows in a picture, and that picture will be shown to an Indian audience. You need to replace the image, because it might in most readers. To do so, you can head to Shutterstock and find your alternative between millions of royalty-free photos.
Try to pick something that’s in line with your content, and that suits your audience. For example by grasping why the cow was there in first place, thus replacing it with the equivalent in the Indian culture.
When dealing with image localization, Shutterstock has got you covered. Here you can download the best royalty free images, including photos, vectors, and illustrations.
The variety is ever broader and thanks to the filters you’ll find what you need in no time.
On top of that, licensing is simple, and so it’s the pricing. Simplicity and variety are key concepts to this service, that serves thousand of professionals every day.
Nicola defines himself as a “techno king”. Like Elon Musk says, bios and titles don’t matter that much. What really matters is passion for revolutionary technology that can change the world, like blockchain, internet, cyber security, finance, SEO and a lot more. Nicola loves exploring and engaging the reader in his discovery journey.