Simplicity as a radical design concept; Korea loves clutter
Repost from YongoPal:
I found myself chatting with my brother today about something that I think is worth a mention here. Since the beginning, we have recognized that Koreans adhere to very different conventions of web design than we are used to here. The differences make themselves obvious if you compare Google’s search page with Korean search engines like Nate and Naver. Ebay’s Korean subsidiary, auction.co.kr, or education site Carrot English are also fine examples of how they manage to overload every page with needless text, advertising, and flashy animated shit.
Initially, we discussed actually hiring a Korean designer to create a site with a familiar aesthetic. But as I reflected on it more, I had to wonder whether this is something that Korean web-users actually want. Culturally different or not, I can’t wrap my mind around how anyone would want their web services to be bogged down with such an overwhelming amount of needless clutter.
In the end, we chose a design that is actually going to be very radical in this market. I’m making a bet that says that users will respond positively to it; that they’re having cluttery garbage shoved down their throats by business owners who are trying too hard to fit in with established conventions in order to look legitimate, but in the process have lost touch with consumer need. YongoPal is all about being simple and approachable — and that, ultimately, is what we believe everyone wants to see.
Still, it’s kind of a sociological experiment, and the reality remains an unknown. But you know where my bet is.
The article is usefull for me. I’ll be coming back to your blog.
Korean sense of aesthetics are that they love anything glossy and trendy to the point of being overkill. Simplicity is too boring for us, and culturally its a very ultra conservative/conformist society so anything that strays from that is considered to be the more alluring.
@Jason_Chaotic: You may be very right. We’re still going to introduce our service with a contemporary Western design to save on costs and to see what happens, but the site can always be redesigned to better fit the Korean aesthetic later on.
A couple questions, though: Do you know of any examples of web applications with an emphasis on usability and simplicity being introduced and rejected in the Korea market? Also, in your opinion, do you think there’s a chance that a Western design aesthetic could actually lend credibility to a company, like ours, that is focused on matching Korean students with Western conversation partners?