Designing for Bharat: what you want vs what they need

It's humbling to design for an India that struggles with English & tech comprehension, and despite the struggles, accomplishes so much by using their phone in English. Some light-hearted observations:

1. What you want: set a brand tone through your copy, show personality, communicate nuanced situations, convey emotion.
   What they need: the fewest simplest words possible that they actually understand.

2. What you want: handle every error and edge-case gracefully. Explain exactly what happened and give them multiple options.
   What they need: one big CTA that they can tap safely that moves them forward.

3. What you want: update the app regularly, add more features, iterate the design over time.
   What they need: keep things where they are, the way they are; move one button and some will have to relearn how to use the app.

4. What you want: use a wide colour palette, delight with colours, colour-coded tags, themes etc.
   What they need: green = go, red = stop

5. What you want: Build a product they find enough value in to use, and feel empowered to do so.
   What they need: a family member that handles the tasks so they don’t mess up and don’t have to stress.

6. What you want: Make a UI that’s self-evident, with step-by-step onboarding, a new-user experience that coaches them progressively.
   What they need: A service/sales rep to set everything up and come show them how to do what they need.

7. What you want: To build digital processes designed for their specialised needs, that put the right info at their fingertips.
   What they need: A WhatsApp button to get shit done in a single msg.

Originally published on juhi.co