"Hey Google, Find Me Nasi Goreng"

How localized apps win by miles

One of my favourite examples of the subject of “designing for relevance” or “designing with context” is how Google did it with Google Maps for certain markets, like Indonesia and India. Back in 2018, I found this article.

One of the key takeaways from that research is how different it is to navigate certain cities in the world. When originally designing for Google Maps, we bet that the designers only based it on American roads. Little did they know that when rolling the product out globally, there will be differences at how this will be experienced in different cities across the world. When you compare street layouts and condition between the U.S. and India, the difference is stark. One tends to be more organized, spacious and equipped with clear markings and directions. One other tends to be chaotic, at times narrow, and lacking markings or directions. In the U.S., you tend to drive a car and that’s how time is estimated. In India, you tend to drive a motorcycle, ride on a rickshaw, …