Chinese app design: weird, but it works. Here's why

Chinese app design it's weirdly cluttered but it works here's why these two are both payment apps one is from China and one is from USA they both

serve the same purpose which is to send and receive money why do they look so different also this doesn't just stop at software

design culture affects human behavior and perception but what is culture culture is our mental programming but I'm wondering how does

cultural psychology impact software and app design China has 1.4 billion people more than a sixth of the world human population which means in China new

internet products amass millions of users in months maybe even weeks the skill is unlike anything that the West has ever seen so why does this rise at

the top after scouring through research papers talks from scientists on culture and software design articles I answer these questions why does Chinese app

design work how does physical space relate to this why would Chinese users prefer mobile over desktop apps and finally how might all of this affect us

this is not to generalize Chinese or Western culture this is based on my own research and my experiences traveling to and living in China which with that said

let's dive into the design psychology of Chinese apps why is this cluttered design actually necessary we'll start with the concept of super apps a few

years ago near the end of Co my dad was at a grocery store in China he got his groceries went up to the cashier and took out his wallet to get some cash he

put the cash on the table and the cashier just looked at him okay this grocery store not only did not take cash they refused credit cards and

the only way to pay there was through reat pay turns out it's not just this grocery store the vast majority of businesses and stores in China have

adopted the use of WeChat as their main source of payment so how often do you actually use cash

uh WeChat in this case has become a super app an all-encompassing app sure WeChat started off as a messaging app

just like IM message but it has quickly expanded and grown in features where people can now send money to each other browse short form content like Tik Tok

and message each other all on WeChat this is the same for dle B which is another popular payment application look how much there is each individual thing

on here is a separate feature so in China it's now actually hard to pay with any other method like cash or credit card in other words if you don't use

super apps like WeChat you're weeded out wait that makes no sense won't shops just go out of business that way why would people prefer these singular apps

I'll explain starting from this clip on your way to the office a message comes in from your boss can you grab them A coffee they pay you back in a different

app you go to another app to place an order for pickup and your mobile wallet needs to be

updated okay there now coffee which took four apps to accomplish but in China it takes just one WeChat a super app some

of the most used applications in China such as WeChat MW and J I'll started off as single function apps but they've

expanded to become this allinone tool and what Americans might think as cluttered weird design here they become a superpower to Chinese users they are

very reassuring and have a seamless user experience why well they work everywhere because you're only using one app you don't have to worry about closing and opening a bunch of different apps

setting a bunch of different passwords and remember that QR code scanner scanning feature all of these apps have a QR scanning feature and so when businesses and people align to use the

same products everything works seamlessly China can do this because of its collectivist culture which have communities that prioritize the needs of

a group rather than any single individual collectivism in China allowed for a wide adoption of several products people are willing to learn a behavior

that's inconvenient at first on an individual level but extremely useful for the collective whole in this case the adoption of weat pay everywhere

hello jack of all trades master of none doesn't trying to be good at everything makes it so that nothing is good well

not if you consider the tan experience tan means combo we see this when we're ordering food from a fast food restaurant Chinese people want their

user EXP experience to be like a McDonald's Happy Meal let me explain for example this this is the Chinese version

of Google Maps but it's not just a map it's also Uber you can book rides through this as well not only that you can compare the prices across 10

different apps all on this one map application isn't that Bonkers it feels like your life is just taken care of with this one app which is exactly what

this design goes for this gives people a ton of reassurance so that makes sense clutter design means more information means more reassurance in my video on

Japanese web design I talked about high Contex culture turns out it's the same here a research paper that compared Chinese and Western user interfaces

found that both the design and user experience of WeChat may be specifically tailored for a Target User Group whose thinking and behavioral patterns are

holistic polychronic meaning multitasking and high context in a high Contex Society We Believe good effective communication is a communication that's

more implicit or layered or nuanced so with this indirect more nuanced way of communicating that makes sense why

there's so much detail on all of these designs so how does physical space impact this cluttered design show me what your home looks like and I can tell

you what kind of person you are turns out there's a big correlation between what China looks like physically versus what goes on their digital interfaces

people are used to the space that they live in so they're accustomed to the experiences that they're familiar with and in this case it's a busy environment

this clip is from a City Walk in changu China we see big lavish decorations in its architecture and big neon signs wherever there is people I mean look at

these food stands this is the norm lots and lots of information all around you let's compare this to America's busiest city Manhattan New

York yes there are still lots of Lights lots of people everywhere but we don't see that same amount of information things don't seem to be as flashy or cluttered we see this also in decor

ations during Chinese New Year where everything is just red and flashy so it makes sense that interfaces are also

info heavy just take a look at [Music] this gotta love this dude we love shma in China where there's space there's

information wait I don't get it if Chinese users prefer dense information why are all these apps Mobile isn't that like the smallest screen size you can

use well my dear this can be explained by mobile leap frogging leap frogging it's just as it sounds you leap over something in this case China bypassed

the use of traditional personal computers and prefer to use phones because they're cheaper they're cheaper to produce to manufacture and therefore

cheaper to buy so so this Supply demand environment was conducive to Rapid mobile expansion Chinese users adopted a stronger preference for mobile

experiences preferring this in the pocket on the- go convenience but what is culture culture is our mental programming indeed and in this case

culture program Chinese users to enjoy apps that have thousands of features so that they take care of you and just an overall comprehensive Happ Happy Meal

experience so how does this impact us what can we learn about Chinese app design this is for the fellow designers software developers Engineers when

you're creating something create with culture in mind sometimes less is not more how can we better localize products so that everyone in the world can use

them the lens through which your brain sees the world shapes your reality if you can change the not only can you change the way you perceive other people's behaviors but you can allow yourself to see the world in someone

else's perspective when you see something like this try to stop yourself from making immediate judgments like this is so messy so cluttered so busy

but understand where is it coming from who is it designed for what do you think about this design would you find it cluttered do you hate it or do you love

it as Bruce Lee said if we cling to any artistic technique it can limit our artistic expression by changing your lens when you're designing for different

audiences you can create things that impact people everywhere [Music]