Professor Bill Gribbons Discusses Google & App Design Globalization

Professor Bill Gribbons, Program Director of Bentley University’s MS Human Factors Information Design program, was featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article 'Google Rethinks App Design for Internet Novices.’

According to a 2019 UN report, about 46% of the global population were not internet users. In an effort to connect with these populations, Google formed team Next Billion Users that developed and launched Camera Go, a photography app for more basic smart phone devices. The team aims to help users who aren't familiar with the web's typical diagram and language.

To meet demands of those lacking internet experience, the Google team operates with "upboarding" in mind rather than the more familiar concept of onboarding. Upboarding assumes less about prior experience and explains more. For example, the "take a photo" button in Camera Go displays text and an illustration to indicate which mode it is in; the original Google Camera app displays only text. When Camera Go is opened, an animated guide explains how to use it and emphasizes imagery over text. The user sees these tutorials each time they open the app.

Professor Gribbons provided insight on global accessibility to digital products and technology companies typically favoring localization techniques. "Localization is taking the domestic product and just putting an international face on it, changing a few colors and images and trying to translate the untranslatable English term you slapped on something years ago...Internationalization is about trying to avoid Western biases.”

In response to Google apps teaching new internet users its visual language, he said "it is all market-driven at the end of the day, but Google does deserve recognition for making a significantly greater investment in deep cultural learning than most."

Professor Gribbons in addition to his work with students founded Bentley’s User Experience Center and User Experience Studio. These centers have helped clients around the globe improve the competitiveness of their technology products and services through a carefully defined user experience.