The Psychological Insights On Cultural Differences Can Contribute To Create Greater Design

Introduction:

“Culture” is not a word; it is a lifestyle practiced by people living in a community. It is vast than anyone can see or think. Mostly when we talk about the culture of a respective community, the things which click the human mind are dresses, food, religious practices, and languages commonly. But culture is more than that; it also includes the beliefs, thoughts, behaviors, and moral value which they practice and passes on.

Therefore the psychological aspects of any culture are not taken into consideration due to their invisibility. As they require conscious insight to look into it and understand. For example; Gender roles are defined by a culture that allows people to learn their duties to play their role in their family. Cultural values change on the basis of community or situation; a person can belong to a community but can change his thoughts and behaviors according to the demands of time. So culture is not a definite thing. It can change. It can be adaptive.

East and West have different cultures on the basis of their behaviors practiced. This leads to design differences also. The designs can also vary due to the market. Creativity is not only about making a good design but making a design by understanding the psychology of the consumer. Because of its consumer behavior that makes any brand successful or off-board, it is an intentional design strategy for brand management. 

Awareness:

Cooperation is important in any culture through which people share their knowledge and skills to form a better community. This sharing pattern is a core element of culture. As in Asian culture, long-distance friendships were maintained by writing letters, whereas, in the West, it was about text messages. The people of the east are closer to their culture; hence they know very well about the psychology of people and consumer behavior as they do not change more often. Eastern cultured is stored and passed on to the next generations, which keeps it alive, and also eastern community does not agree to forget their roots.

While in the West, people try to cope with the changing world and do not feel any shame in leaving the footsteps of their elders and try to indulge themselves in a new world of creativity. Although some people try to keep a balance between an ancient and modern culture that opens new doors of creativity. Behaviors can be systematic rather than predictive because they are a result of sharing within a community. For example, in both cultures east and west, it is a moral value to bring a gift to the host’s home. But their deeper insight is different as according to the psychology of people in the east, people bring sweets or fruits, while in the West, the most common gift is wine.

Design:

“What we design is designing us” Anne-Marie Willis

Designs vary on the basis of consumer behavior, so it is important to make design, taking into consideration the consumer behavior. You can say that designs can also generate behaviors. As technology has reshaped the world, but the behavior of every human towards it is different. For example, the glasses designed with the camera inside do speak of expert minds, but on the other hand, no one wants to be recorded all the time. We all need privacy. Designs of high creativity can collapse in the market due to consumer behavior. 

Designs should base on true core values of the respective community as the designs based on artificial thoughts can be successful in the research field but do not seem attractive to people. Ignoring this intentional design strategy can fail a hardly designed product; no matter how much time a designer takes to come up with a creative idea and how much is spent on the design if it does not meet up the culture of the community, it will fail definitely. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

Creativity does have an important role in designing as it is visible, but the hidden fact i.e., psychology, is also important, but unfortunately, it is neglected. Designs make an impact on the human mind and affect human interaction with each other. If we link technology with psychology, designs can be more successful. As studies show, designs may cause depression or isolation, that is the risk to a community. Therefore to make a design hit in the market, designers should use the ideas closer to his\her culture. 

There is a great role of culture thinking when it comes to designing as both are closely related but rarely understood. It allows the user to stay connected with design. The design should be attractive and engaging i.e., Facebook. Cultural thinking creates a strong understanding between designer and consumer due to which design generates good business. 

Cultural Design Differences

As it is mentioned earlier that intentional design strategy can make it a big hit, and ignoring it can fail your design. Here is an important thing to keep in mind is your market. Design’s success depends on consumer behavior; before designing, study your market as it can save you from failure. Knowledge of your market and psychology of the community helps a lot to design the desired product. Below mentioned are some examples of different designs.

The color use black is considered as a color of death, while in China, it is a symbol of wealth. In the east, white represents death or disdain, while in the West, it is used as a wedding dress, which means it symbolizes happiness.

In eastern culture, the red color displays happiness, but the overall red color is a symbol of danger. Think for a while if a color in the east and West means different or opposite things, what impact an opposite design can have on consumer behavior?

 J-cord and Y-cord

In Japan, the earphones are used asymmetrical with one longer cord named j-shaped earbuds while outside Japan, they are rarely seen. People use symmetric earbuds i.e., Y-shaped. The use is easy for j-shaped earphones as you can hang them around your neck, and there is no need to keep them in the pocket.

 Pharmaceuticals

You may have considered it a matter of the fact that pharmaceuticals are universal, but that’s not the case. Like other things, every country has its own way of prescribing pharmaceuticals, and dosage also varies. As in France, suppositories are used more than combined other counties of Europe. In France, every little thing i.e., sore throat, is also cured with suppository as they consider it works faster than anything. So you will not like to get sick in France.

PSYCHOLOGICAL INSIGHTS

For creating a successful design, keep a few things in mind if you don’t want to see your creativity falling apart

Study your audience before doing cross-cultural.

Use culture as a secret ingredient.

Remember, one color in the east means something else in the West.

CONCLUSION

Cultural differences matter a lot in designing. Creativity can reach another level if it is combined with the culture of the respective community. The intentional design strategy is effective in doing good business out of your design. Psychology is not considered as part of designing, but it is deeply connected with consumer behavior that makes it a topic of higher value. If a designer does a good job of understanding his audience, he can make a better design.

A better understanding of the target audience makes work easier. It is good to do market research before starting your work. And if you are going to design something that is not part of that community, spread awareness about it to avoid a greater loss later. No one likes to see their hard work creativity getting wasted. It is not the fault of the community in the failure of a product or design, as they cannot understand the product, which is somewhere out of their circle. Hence, while designing for certain communities, stay connected to their culture so they can understand and appreciate your work. When you try to learn about the culture of a community, you are learning about people or vice versa. Choose one way or the other; it is a key element of your success.

But if it is necessary to cross-work as it becomes a demand of time in a certain situation. Spread awareness in public about the advantages. The most common and fruitful ways you can use to win hearts are “words” and “visuals.” Choose what you can do better? Both have their own power if used well. If you are going to use words, do it in the native language of the community to get better results in your favor. Select the words carefully; it also matters in which tone you speak. Try to be polite and warm. Don’t beat around the bush. Don’t force your opinions. Allow people to make their own decision.

On the other hand, if you think about going with visuals, try to be more exact. Display what you actually mean. Reality hits more often than creativity. Share your story, which makes people feel connected to you as many people have similar experiences so they can relate themselves with you. If it worked well, then your audience will never let you down, and you will make more than your expectations.