ABSTRACT
It has been established for over 30 years that crosscultural differences are linked to organisational and manufacturing success or failure. Hofstede’s (2001) study yielded five dimensions which differentiate countries, being: power distance, which refers to the way inequality is dealt with and how power and status are used; uncertainty avoidance which relates to tolerance of ambiguous situations; masculinity-femininity which relates to the extent to which gender roles are distinct or overlap; individualism-collectivism which relates to whether ties between individuals are loose or there are strong cohesive in-groups; long term – short term orientation which relates to perseverance and thrift or quick rewards and focus on the present. However, whilst Hofstede considered cultural differences in relation to behaviour, there are major cultural differences for design perception in areas such as software and product design. For example, the impact of languages, cultures, conventions and local practices on software production has been discussed by Hall and Hudson (1997), who show that designing software to be used across countries must not simply take into account differences in such factors as currency, measurement units, dates, time zones etc. but also we must be aware of colours, icons, pictures, sounds etc. which may be perceived as offensive, inappropriate or misunderstood by particular users. Thus, design perception differences can impact on acceptability and marketability in different countries.
