Multilingual Guides. Many languages: Just one document

Transcription

1 Multilingual Guides Many languages: Just one document

2 What s a multilingual guide? Explains how to quickly install/set up a product Particularly used for hardware products Contains more than one language Pi Printed and shipped with iththe product Economical way to ship a printed manual to an international audience Often thrown out after use 2

3 What are the challenges to create one? 3

4 What are the challenges? 1. Cost issues 2. International ti issues 3. Packaging restrictions 4. Design issues You must be aware of the wider issues of getting the information to the customer internationally when planning this document type. 4

5 Challenges 2. Cost issues Tend to be used for products with a lower profit margin. Issues to consider: Profit margin of product? High, low? Shipped to how many countries? Distribution & warehouse issues? Printing issues: Thrown-away or kept by the user? 5

6 Example: Cost issues The cost of pretty when it hits international 6

7 Example: Cost issues 7

8 Challenges 1. International issues Today even a tea bag must think global! Plan for: Internationalization And Localization 8

9 Example: Internationalization Product s market suddenly goes global Information in guide must change too: Contact details Technical details (eg, NTSC & PAL) Units of measurement Legal info required North America only Global 9

10 Challenges 3. Packaging issues The size of the box the product is shipped in can impact the permitted size and thickness of the printed guide If the original guide was planned for just one language, could have problems fitting in other languages without changing g content or layout 10

11 Example:Atight fit gets tighter Americas versus European versions of a guide Product was a small key safe with a built-in in combination keypad. Packaging dictated the size and thickness of the guide. There was little wiggle room for the guide to increase in size. Not possible to change the packaging North American version European version 11

12 Example:Atight fit gets tighter Americas version of the guide 12

13 Example:Atight fit gets tighter European version of guide 13

14 Challenges 4. Design issues Content Page size Relationship between graphics and text Impact of text expansion from translation Identifying the languages g included Legal issues Cheap and cheerful document Can sometimes have a conflict of interest between usability issues and cost production issues 14

15 4. Design issues Content: Due to packaging constraints total page count of the completed multilingual guide is often limited Important to carefully consider what information gets included Only include must have information Communicate visually as much as possible Know your contraints before you start designing & writing this type of guide 15

16 Example: Content Redundant information A 16-page video camera pocket guide with 3x4 inch pages. Of which: 2 pages with legal info 5.5 pages with table of contents, introduction and installation instructions 2.5 pages of technical specifications 3 pages of generic contact info and online resources available (eg, documentation ti library, training i library, warranty ). Cover & some blank pages BUT Tech specs info: Much of this info is only needed when selling the product, not when up a ladder installing the video camera Contact info: Much of the information about our online resources not needed. Copied straight from the user manual. 16

17 Example: Content Redundant information Original English-only guide Modified English content for multilingual guide 17

18 4. Design issues Impact of page size Often dictated by packaging The smaller the page size, the greater the impact of text t expansion on the page. English: Analogue addressable fire panels and repeaters Estonian: Analoog-adresseeritavad tulekahjusignalisatsioonikeskused ja kordurid 18

19 Example: Impact of page size Impact of page size on graphics 19

20 Example: Impact of page size This guide is not a miniature A4 user manual 20

21 4. Design issues Relationship between graphics and text Few products can be explained using graphics only. IKEA and Lego manuals are good examples. Challenge to balance usability needs against those of production and distribution costs. Do you: Reduce page count by positioning all the graphics in the front and refer to them in the main text for each language? Improve usability by repeating graphics for each language but risk significantly increasing the total page count? 21

22 Example: Handling graphics All graphics located in the front 22

23 Example: Handling graphics Fold-out cover to see graphics more easily 23

24 Example: Handling graphics Using numbered callouts 24

25 4. Design issues Identifying the languages present Need to be able to quickly located the contents in a particular language Several techniques exist: ISO language codes Spell out the language name Vehicle country codes (widely used in Europe) Don t use national flags to identify countries 25

26 Example: Identifying languages Positioning language codes on the page Start of new language: With page numbering: 26

27 Example: Identifying languages Languages listed on cover 27

28 4. Design issues Templates Design for flow Minimize i i amount of tweaking required to layout Clearly identify where each language starts Design for efficient use of space May need more than one template t for different page sizes This guide is not a miniaturized monolingual user manual It might be the only manual translated t 28

29 Example: Templates Text flows smoothly Next language 29

30 Example: Templates Where does the expanded text go when translated? What happens when this block of text is translated and expands? 30

31 Example: Templates 31

32 4. Design Legal issues Invariably there will be legal info to be included. Unfortunately this can take up several pages for some products. May neet to include, for example Safety info Regulatory requirements (eg, EU directives, FCC, C-tick tick, ) Warranties, guarantees 32

33 Example: Legal issues 33

34 Summary When doing a multilingual guide: Understand the constraints Internationalize the source contents Think visually Only include must-have information Carefully plan how text and graphics connect. Design for text to flow easily Minimize tweaking to layout Avoid complicated layouts Design so languages can be easily added 34

35 Jennifer O Neill Senior Technical Writer UTC Fire & Security Diegem jennifer.oneill@fs.utc.com 35