Immerse yourself in your target audience’s culture

If you are going to design or write about or for another culture, you need to know that culture. The best way to learn about another culture is to experience it through immersion. Why? What and who we surround ourselves with significantly impacts our lives. The things that surround us can be implicit and explicit.

If plausible, you should plan a trip to visit the country of the intended culture. If not, there are other more cost-efficient and convenient options. You could visit neighborhoods or other areas near you where populations exhibiting the culture of your target audience live and inhabit. You could tour cultural centers or museums. You could attend cultural events at local colleges. My favorite choice is exposing yourself to foreign media like reading literature, watching movies, listening to music, reading a regional newspaper, researching culture-specific design publications.

As you immerse yourself, remember the following elements: race, ethnicity, gender, social class, age, and religion. These factors are essential across all cultures. They will appear differently across different cultures. Identifying these factors will help you better understand your audience.