8 Design Considerations for Building Translated Learning Content

The Tool

Design Considerations for Translations

Purpose and Use Case

As a learning designer new to the field or new to a global company, you may receive a casual note from your stakeholders: "Oh, and we will also need this in ______ language when it's finished." 

Before you melt into a puddle of fear, miedo, peur, or angst, take a breath and think about how your design choices can make the translation process easier for learners, stakeholders, and translators.

Instructions

When designing content for translation, consider the following as you build your design storyboards or rapid prototypes:

1. Write with translation in mind
Avoid idioms, wordplay, or overly complex sentences.

2. Plan for text expansion
Other languages can be longer than English, so avoid cramming your text together.

3. Avoid embedding text in images
If you need text with a graphic, use captions or overlay text.

4. Choose your development tool carefully
Think about how you will import/export your module for your translators.

5. Carefully consider your voiceovers
If using audio, test and understand how you will sync the audio with the visuals—some things take a lot longer to say in other languages!

6. Communicate with your translators
They will need context to choose the appropriate level of formality for their translation.

7. Build translations into your project plan
Consider how long translations will take, and build in a QA process for checking the finished product.

8. Choose images carefully
Approach your image selection with cultural sensitivity, and avoid graphics or images that may be considered inappropriate in other contexts.

Pros

If you are a single-language designer working in a multi-language environment, planning your work with translations in mind will make your development process go much more smoothly. As a bonus, many of these considerations are also key practices for designing learning that is accessible.

Cons

As a new designer, it may feel overwhelming to think about translations as you are putting together your prototypes—remember these things will take longer than you might have guessed!

Takeaways

Designing a learning product that will be translated is a great privilege—that means more learners will be impacted by the great work you are doing! With careful planning and the right people on your team, you can make a product that is superb, excelente, hervorragend, or bora sana.