4 ms·

The icon thing is so they can sell the same appliance everywhere without localizing it. (Of course, they still have to localize the manual but their inventory m

The icon thing is so they can sell the same appliance everywhere without localizing it. (Of course, they still have to localize the manual but their inventory management is simplified.) That doesn't help you though.

shadowgovt 3y ago
Precisely. If you want text labels and you're trying to sell the same washing machine in Japan and Germany, you've just given the user interface designer the challenge of writing labels where there's a 10x difference in the average length of the symbol. Making up novel hieroglyphics and letting the user memorize them is just cheaper.
- midoridensha 3y ago
  >If you want text labels and you're trying to sell the same washing machine in Japan and Germany, you've just given the user interface designer the challenge of writing labels where there's a 10x difference in the average length of the symbol. No one sells the same washing machines in Japan and Germany. In Japan, the washing machines are made only for the Japanese market, not for export (some are imported from China, but these too are specifically made for the Japanese market, and are very different from machines sold elsewhere). The cheaper machines have all text labels, and a lot of buttons, all in Japanese. The fancy machines like mine have touchscreens, with an enormous number of different settings and functions, and again it's all in Japanese with no ability to change languages, there there are also some icons along with the text, but not enough to use the machine without reading Japanese.
- plugin-baby 3y ago
  Can you match the icon to the icons in clothing labels?
crabbone 3y ago
You really think it would make it very difficult to localize "time" and "temperature"? -- because these the only two labels that are actually needed for a washing machine. I would even take icons for both. Something that looks like a clock face and something that looks like a thermometer would work just fine. The problem is that it's not even close... Also, I worked in printing, specifically flexo / silk / tampo, i.e. the stuff that gets printed on all sorts of curved surfaces, stickers, souvenirs, mugs etc. Yeah, it adds a bit of complexity... but compared to the price of equipment, at least the printing part is nothing. It might have to do with packaging and managing inventory for different languages... but then again they also need other localized stuff... so who knows.
- nkohari 3y ago
  > It might have to do with packaging and managing inventory for different languages Yeah -- it's not a localization problem, it's a supply chain problem. By removing the need to localize, they can manufacture and deliver a single SKU to any location. It's the same reason manuals are printed in 12 languages.

shadowgovt 3y ago

Precisely. If you want text labels and you're trying to sell the same washing machine in Japan and Germany, you've just given the user interface designer the challenge of writing labels where there's a 10x difference in the average length of the symbol. Making up novel hieroglyphics and letting the user memorize them is just cheaper.

midoridensha 3y ago
>If you want text labels and you're trying to sell the same washing machine in Japan and Germany, you've just given the user interface designer the challenge of writing labels where there's a 10x difference in the average length of the symbol. No one sells the same washing machines in Japan and Germany. In Japan, the washing machines are made only for the Japanese market, not for export (some are imported from China, but these too are specifically made for the Japanese market, and are very different from machines sold elsewhere). The cheaper machines have all text labels, and a lot of buttons, all in Japanese. The fancy machines like mine have touchscreens, with an enormous number of different settings and functions, and again it's all in Japanese with no ability to change languages, there there are also some icons along with the text, but not enough to use the machine without reading Japanese.
plugin-baby 3y ago
Can you match the icon to the icons in clothing labels?

crabbone 3y ago

You really think it would make it very difficult to localize "time" and "temperature"? -- because these the only two labels that are actually needed for a washing machine. I would even take icons for both. Something that looks like a clock face and something that looks like a thermometer would work just fine. The problem is that it's not even close... Also, I worked in printing, specifically flexo / silk / tampo, i.e. the stuff that gets printed on all sorts of curved surfaces, stickers, souvenirs, mugs etc. Yeah, it adds a bit of complexity... but compared to the price of equipment, at least the printing part is nothing. It might have to do with packaging and managing inventory for different languages... but then again they also need other localized stuff... so who knows.

nkohari 3y ago
> It might have to do with packaging and managing inventory for different languages Yeah -- it's not a localization problem, it's a supply chain problem. By removing the need to localize, they can manufacture and deliver a single SKU to any location. It's the same reason manuals are printed in 12 languages.