[Sigia-l] Google introduces animated icons on homepage

[Jorge Arango]

Hello all,

Having animated/flashy elements and higher diversity (and density) in
the UI may be an important factor in driving product acceptance in
some cultures.

> What cultural context is he referring to?

Although probably not what Brin had in mind, this seems like a prime
example of the differences in cultural context proposed by Edward Hall
in his book "Beyond Culture".[1]

Elizabeth Würtz has looked at website design across different cultures
using Hall's framework [2], and hypothesizes that designs produced by
"High Context" (HC) cultures will tend to feature more imagery
(including animations and other effects) -- and less text -- than
those aimed at "Low Context" (LC) cultures. She also proposes that HC
websites tend to have more diversity in their layout and color schemes
(what we may perceive as "clutter".)

Asia and North America happen to sit on opposite ends of that HC-LC
axis; this may explain Google's need for animations in their Hong Kong
UI, and why this may seem jarring to folks from other cultures. (BTW
Eric, Scandinavia also regularly cited as an example of a LC culture.)

Cheers,

--
Jorge Arango
http://www.jarango.com

[1]http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Culture-Edward-T-Hall/dp/0385124740
[2]http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue1/wuertz.html