Chinese app design: weird, but it works. Here's why
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the cultural psychology behind Chinese app design, focusing on 'super apps' like WeChat that serve multiple functions in one platform. It delves into how China's collectivist culture and high-context communication influence app interfaces, which may appear cluttered to Western eyes but provide reassurance and convenience to Chinese users. The script also discusses the impact of physical space on digital design and the phenomenon of mobile leapfrogging, urging designers to consider cultural perspectives when creating universally appealing products.
Takeaways
- 🌏 Chinese app design is often cluttered but functional, reflecting cultural differences in software design.
- 💡 The concept of 'super apps' in China, like WeChat, is a result of the need to serve multiple functions within a single application.
- 🛍️ In China, the widespread adoption of mobile payment apps has led to a preference for digital payments over cash or credit cards.
- 🤝 Chinese culture's collectivist nature has facilitated the acceptance of these all-in-one apps for the benefit of the community.
- 🏙️ The physical environment in China, with its busy streets and information-rich spaces, may influence the design of digital interfaces.
- 📲 Mobile leapfrogging in China has led to a preference for mobile apps over desktop experiences due to cost and convenience.
- 🔍 Chinese users value comprehensive apps that provide a 'Happy Meal' experience, taking care of multiple needs in one place.
- 🌐 Cultural psychology impacts software and app design, with Chinese apps being tailored to a holistic and polychronic user experience.
- 🎨 High-context culture in China values implicit, layered, and nuanced communication, which is reflected in the detailed app designs.
- 🛠️ For designers and developers, understanding cultural differences is crucial for creating universally appealing products.
- 🌈 Avoiding immediate judgments and considering the cultural context of design can lead to more inclusive and impactful creations.
Q & A
Why do Chinese payment apps appear cluttered compared to their Western counterparts?
-Chinese payment apps are designed to serve multiple functions within a single platform, which is a reflection of the 'super app' concept prevalent in China. This design is necessary due to the high user density and the need for seamless integration with various services in a collectivist culture.
What is a 'super app' and how does it relate to Chinese app design?
-A 'super app' is an application that offers a multitude of services and functions within a single platform, such as messaging, payments, and browsing content. In China, apps like WeChat and Alipay have evolved into super apps, providing a wide range of services to cater to the diverse needs of users within a single interface.
How does the Chinese culture of collectivism influence the adoption of super apps?
-Collectivist culture in China prioritizes group needs over individual preferences, which has facilitated the widespread adoption of super apps. Users are willing to adapt to initially inconvenient behaviors for the collective benefit, such as using a single app for various services.
Why do Chinese users prefer mobile apps over desktop applications?
-The preference for mobile apps in China can be attributed to 'mobile leapfrogging,' where the country bypassed the widespread use of traditional PCs due to the affordability and convenience of smartphones, leading to a stronger preference for mobile experiences.
How does the physical environment in China relate to the design of its digital interfaces?
-The busy and information-dense physical environment in China, characterized by lavish decorations and neon signs, mirrors the design of digital interfaces, which are also information-heavy and designed to cater to users accustomed to such environments.
What is the concept of 'high context culture' and how does it affect Chinese app design?
-High context culture refers to a society where communication is implicit, layered, and nuanced. In China, this cultural aspect influences app design, leading to interfaces that are detailed and provide a wealth of information, which users find reassuring and comprehensive.
How does the concept of 'mobile leapfrogging' impact the design and use of apps in China?
-Mobile leapfrogging in China has led to a rapid expansion of mobile app usage due to the lower cost and greater accessibility of smartphones compared to traditional PCs. This has resulted in apps being designed with mobile-first experiences in mind, catering to the on-the-go convenience preferred by Chinese users.
What can Western designers and developers learn from Chinese app design?
-Western designers and developers can learn the importance of considering cultural context when creating apps. Understanding and incorporating cultural preferences can lead to better localized products that are more appealing and functional for users worldwide.
How does the script suggest changing one's perspective when encountering unfamiliar design?
-The script encourages individuals to pause and avoid making immediate judgments about unfamiliar designs. It suggests understanding the cultural context and intended audience of the design to gain a deeper appreciation for its purpose and functionality.
What is the significance of the 'Happy Meal' analogy used in the script to describe Chinese app design?
-The 'Happy Meal' analogy highlights the desire for a comprehensive and convenient user experience in Chinese app design. It suggests that Chinese users appreciate apps that offer a wide range of features and services, providing a one-stop solution to various needs.
How does the script relate the design of Chinese apps to the physical and cultural environment of China?
-The script draws parallels between the busy and information-rich physical environment of China and the design of its digital interfaces. It suggests that the cultural preference for collectivism, high context communication, and the mobile leapfrogging phenomenon have collectively shaped the design of Chinese apps to be comprehensive and mobile-centric.
Outlines
🌏 Cultural Impact on App Design
This paragraph explores the cultural nuances that shape app design in China, particularly focusing on the concept of 'super apps' like WeChat, which serve multiple functions beyond just messaging. It discusses how the collectivist culture in China has led to the widespread adoption of these all-encompassing apps, which are seen as efficient and reassuring despite their cluttered appearance to Western eyes. The speaker also touches on the rapid growth of internet products in China due to its large population and how this has influenced the design of apps to be more comprehensive and user-friendly within the context of Chinese culture.
📲 The Rise of Super Apps and Mobile Leapfrogging
The second paragraph delves into the practicality and cultural significance of super apps in China, using the example of WeChat to illustrate how a single app can cater to a multitude of needs, from payments to content browsing. It contrasts the Chinese preference for mobile apps with the Western approach to app design, highlighting the concept of 'mobile leapfrogging,' where China bypassed traditional PCs in favor of mobile devices due to their affordability and convenience. The paragraph also examines how the physical environment in China, with its busy and information-rich spaces, mirrors the dense and detailed design of Chinese digital interfaces.
🛠️ Designing with Cultural Awareness
The final paragraph emphasizes the importance of cultural awareness in design, urging designers and developers to consider the cultural context when creating apps and software. It suggests that understanding the cultural background of users can lead to more effective and inclusive designs that resonate with diverse audiences. The speaker encourages an open-minded approach to design, avoiding immediate judgments about what may seem cluttered or busy, and instead seeking to understand the intent and audience behind different design choices.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡App Design
💡Cultural Psychology
💡Super Apps
💡Collectivist Culture
💡Mobile Leapfrogging
💡High Context Culture
💡User Experience (UX)
💡QR Code Scanning
💡Cultural Localization
💡Perception and Reality
Highlights
Chinese app design is cluttered but functional, differing from Western designs.
Cultural psychology impacts software and app design, especially in China with its large population.
Super apps in China, like WeChat, serve multiple functions, unlike single-purpose apps in the West.
The prevalence of WeChat as a primary payment method in China reflects a cultural shift away from cash and credit cards.
Chinese users prefer super apps for their convenience and seamless integration of services.
Collectivist culture in China has facilitated the widespread adoption of super apps.
High-context culture in China values implicit and nuanced communication, reflected in app design.
Chinese app interfaces are information-heavy, mirroring the busy and flashy physical environment.
Mobile leapfrogging in China has led to a preference for mobile apps over desktop applications.
Cultural programming influences user preferences for app features and design.
Designers and developers should consider cultural differences when creating software for global audiences.
Understanding cultural perspectives can prevent immediate negative judgments on app design.
Adapting to cultural contexts can enhance the user experience and acceptance of software products.
The design of Chinese apps aims to provide a comprehensive 'Happy Meal' experience for users.
Cultural impact on app design is a call for designers to think beyond their own cultural biases.
The video encourages embracing diverse cultural design elements to create universally impactful products.
Transcripts
Chinese app design it's weirdly
cluttered but it works here's why these
two are both payment apps one is from
China and one is from USA they both
serve the same purpose which is to send
and receive money why do they look so
different also this doesn't just stop at
software
design culture affects human behavior
and perception but what is
culture culture is our mental
programming but I'm wondering how does
cultural psychology impact software and
app design China has 1.4 billion people
more than a sixth of the world human
population which means in China new
internet products amass millions of
users in months maybe even weeks the
skill is unlike anything that the West
has ever seen so why does this rise at
the top after scouring through research
papers talks from scientists on culture
and software design articles I answer
these questions why does Chinese app
design work how does physical space
relate to this why would Chinese users
prefer mobile over desktop apps and
finally how might all of this affect us
this is not to generalize Chinese or
Western culture this is based on my own
research and my experiences traveling to
and living in China which with that said
let's dive into the design psychology of
Chinese apps why is this cluttered
design actually necessary we'll start
with the concept of super apps a few
years ago near the end of Co my dad was
at a grocery store in China he got his
groceries went up to the cashier and
took out his wallet to get some cash he
put the cash on the table and the
cashier just looked at him
okay this grocery store not only did not
take cash they refused credit cards and
the only way to pay there was through
reat pay turns out it's not just this
grocery store the vast majority of
businesses and stores in China have
adopted the use of WeChat as their main
source of
payment so how often do you actually use
cash
uh WeChat in this case has become a
super app an all-encompassing app sure
WeChat started off as a messaging app
just like IM message but it has quickly
expanded and grown in features where
people can now send money to each other
browse short form content like Tik Tok
and message each other all on WeChat
this is the same for dle B which is
another popular payment application look
how much there is each individual thing
on here is a separate feature so in
China it's now actually hard to pay with
any other method like cash or credit
card in other words if you don't use
super apps like WeChat you're weeded out
wait that makes no sense won't shops
just go out of business that way why
would people prefer these singular apps
I'll explain starting from this clip on
your way to the office a message comes
in from your boss can you grab them A
coffee they pay you back in a different
app you go to another app to place an
order for pickup and your mobile wallet
needs to be
updated okay there now coffee which took
four apps to accomplish but in China it
takes just one WeChat a super app some
of the most used applications in China
such as WeChat M and J I'll started off
as single function apps but they've
expanded to become this allinone tool
and what Americans might think as
cluttered weird design here they become
a superpower to Chinese users they are
very reassuring and have a seamless user
experience why well they work everywhere
because you're only using one app you
don't have to worry about closing and
opening a bunch of different apps
setting a bunch of different passwords
and remember that QR code scanner
scanning feature all of these apps have
a QR scanning feature and so when
businesses and people align to use the
same products everything works
seamlessly China can do this because of
its collectivist culture which have
communities that prioritize the needs of
a group rather than any single
individual collectivism in China allowed
for a wide adoption of several products
people are willing to learn a behavior
that's inconvenient at first on an
individual level but extremely useful
for the collective whole in this case
the adoption of weat pay everywhere
hello jack of all trades master of none
doesn't trying to be good at everything
makes it so that nothing is good well
not if you consider the tan experience
tan means combo we see this when we're
ordering food from a fast food
restaurant Chinese people want their
user EXP experience to be like a
McDonald's Happy Meal let me explain for
example this this is the Chinese version
of Google Maps but it's not just a map
it's also Uber you can book rides
through this as well not only that you
can compare the prices across 10
different apps all on this one map
application isn't that Bonkers it feels
like your life is just taken care of
with this one app which is exactly what
this design goes for this gives people a
ton of reassurance so that makes sense
clutter design means more information
means more reassurance in my video on
Japanese web design I talked about high
Contex culture turns out it's the same
here a research paper that compared
Chinese and Western user interfaces
found that both the design and user
experience of WeChat may be specifically
tailored for a Target User Group whose
thinking and behavioral patterns are
holistic polychronic meaning
multitasking and high context in a high
Contex Society We Believe good effective
communication is a communication that's
more implicit or layered or nuanced so
with this indirect more nuanced way of
communicating that makes sense why
there's so much detail on all of these
designs so how does physical space
impact this cluttered design show me
what your home looks like and I can tell
you what kind of person you are turns
out there's a big correlation between
what China looks like physically versus
what goes on their digital interfaces
people are used to the space that they
live in so they're accustomed to the
experiences that they're familiar with
and in this case it's a busy environment
this clip is from a City Walk in changu
China we see big lavish decorations in
its architecture and big neon signs
wherever there is people I mean look at
these food stands this is the norm lots
and lots of information all around you
let's compare this to America's busiest
city Manhattan New
York yes there are still lots of Lights
lots of people everywhere but we don't
see that same amount of information
things don't seem to be as flashy or
cluttered we see this also in decor
ations during Chinese New Year where
everything is just red and flashy so it
makes sense that interfaces are also
info heavy just take a look at
[Music]
this gotta love this dude we love shma
in China where there's space there's
information wait I don't get it if
Chinese users prefer dense information
why are all these apps Mobile isn't that
like the smallest screen size you can
use well my dear this can be explained
by mobile leap frogging leap frogging
it's just as it sounds you leap over
something in this case China bypassed
the use of traditional personal
computers and prefer to use phones
because they're cheaper they're cheaper
to produce to manufacture and therefore
cheaper to buy so so the supply demand
environment was conducive to Rapid
mobile expansion Chinese users adopted a
stronger preference for mobile
experiences preferring this in the
pocket on the-go convenience but what is
culture culture is our mental
programming indeed and in this case
culture program Chinese users to enjoy
apps that have thousands of features so
that they take care of you and just an
overall comprehensive Happ Happy Meal
experience so how does this impact us
what can we learn about Chinese app
design this is for the fellow designers
software developers Engineers when
you're creating something create with
culture in mind sometimes less is not
more how can we better localize products
so that everyone in the world can use
them the lens through which your brain
sees the world shapes your reality if
you can change the not only can you
change the way you perceive other
people's behaviors but you can allow
yourself to see the world in someone
else's perspective when you see
something like this try to stop yourself
from making immediate judgments like
this is so messy so cluttered so busy
but understand where is it coming from
who is it designed for what do you think
about this design would you find it
cluttered do you hate it or do you love
it as Bruce Lee said if we cling to any
artistic technique it can limit our
artistic expression by changing your
lens when you're designing for different
audiences you can create things that
impact people everywhere
[Music]
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