AUTOMOTIVE
Client
Ford is a global automotive brand, with a strong European presence.
Program/Project
Ford SYNC localization for primary European markets.
My Role
User Interface Designer for localization to UK English.
My Responsibilities
Design full, production-ready set of prompts for audio playback, plus text instructions for console display.
Co-ordinate with international team, including UI Designers and Speech Scientists in each target locale, and German Program Manager.Challenges & Opportunities
Console display had very limited screen real estate, but text needed to stay relevant to audio prompts.
Staying consistent with the US original, plus other European locales, whilst adapting to the language and traffic concepts appropriate to UK English.
Other localization challenges, such as:
> address formats vary between countries - impacts entry of start/end locations for route-finding;
> some well-known “Places of Interest” use Anglicized names, for example “The Eiffel Tower”;
> some concepts such as “Aires” (rest areas with limited facilities) are a common feature of French and some other countries’ major roads, but no direct parallel exists in the UK.
> address formats vary between countries - impacts entry of start/end locations for route-finding;
> some well-known “Places of Interest” use Anglicized names, for example “The Eiffel Tower”;
> some concepts such as “Aires” (rest areas with limited facilities) are a common feature of French and some other countries’ major roads, but no direct parallel exists in the UK.