THINK GLOBALLY The growth of technology and the Internet has allowed companies to gain a competitive edge that was previously too expensive for all but the largest brands. When going international, cultural differences and design can have a drastic impact on in-market performance. Smart brands design their materials accordingly, typically leveraging a translation company to localize their existing collateral. What if you tackle this challenge from the start, developing your content, Web site and sales collateral with a global mindset? When creating marketing materials for international consumers, keep in mind the elements behind a Web, video and print campaign or a multilingual presentation. Technical implications behind these assets may impact or delay translation efforts down the pike. This guide takes a deep dive into the technicalities of preparing marketing assets and collateral for future translation efforts so your company can align itself accordingly. Marketers who understand and apply localization best practices during development reduce costs and production timelines, gaining an edge on the competition.

1. Structuring for Success
Prepare Your Assets and Collateral for Localization
THINK GLOBALLY
The growth of technology and the Internet has allowed companies to gain a competitive edge that was previously too ex-
pensive for all but the largest brands. When going international, cultural differences and design can have a drastic impact
on in-market performance. Smart brands design their materials accordingly, typically leveraging a translation company to
localize their existing collateral.
What if you tackle this challenge from the start, developing your content, Web site and sales collateral with a global
mindset? When creating marketing materials for international consumers, keep in mind the elements behind a Web,
video and print campaign or a multilingual presentation. Technical implications behind these assets may impact or delay
translation efforts down the pike.
This guide takes a deep dive into the technicalities of preparing marketing assets and collateral for future translation
efforts so your company can align itself accordingly. Marketers who understand and apply localization best practices
during development reduce costs and production timelines, gaining an edge on the competition.
CREATING CAMPAIGNS FOR THE WEB:
MINI-SITES, FLASH, IMAGES AND VIDEOS
Web Mini-Sites
• Recommended software: None; HTML is non-proprietary
A V O I D I N G P R O D U C T I O N I S S U E S
ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Apply UTF-8 encoding,
unless projects specs require
otherwise
• UTF-8 encoding supports all languages, allowing localized versions to be
delivered in the same format as the original.
• Use Western European encoding only when necessary, such as when required
by server limitations. Note that Western European encoded files containing
Asian or Eastern European accented characters will be converted to entities.
Develop a spreadsheet that
contains a verified, final list of
customized URLs
• Your company might require customization of specific Web page links
for each target language. Automatically extract URLs from Dreamweaver.
Alternately, use relative rather than absolute URLs.
Allow for 40 percent text
expansion when developing
Web pages
• The space needed to accommodate translated text will expand or contract
depending on the target language. A good rule of thumb is to allow for 40
percent text expansion when creating Web pages.
Build content with dynamic
elements to allow for
customization
• When creating UI for a mini-site, consider using dynamic components within
Flash. Applying actionscript coding to show or hide a button based on
availability of an external file will allow for a customizable UI.
• External assets, such as on-screen elements for buttons and UI design, can
also be loaded dynamically from XML or through HTML variables. This allows
content to be further customized for localized languages without editing the
source content.
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2. Flash
• Recommended software: Adobe Flash CS6
• Why: Native program for creating Flash (.fla and .swf)
A V O I D I N G P R O D U C T I O N I S S U E S
ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Encode XML files in UTF-8
format
This ensures characters display properly in Flash.
Embed fonts into FLA Embedding fonts in FLA avoids display issues when re-publishing into SWF for
localized languages, ensuring accented characters display.
Include all source files in the
delivery, including .fla, .xml,
.psd, .ai, ActionScript files and
all custom filters and effects to
allow for re-publishing of SWFs.
After translation, adjust the layout and text boxes, or embed characters if
necessary.
• Adjust text boxes if the content exceeds size of box
• Adjust the position of the text box if the text expansion creates an overlap
• For Asian languages, characters must be embedded within the .fla file. It is
possible to embed an entire font set, but for Asian languages, these are very
large. Having the .fla file allows the localization partner to embed the specific
characters to allow proper display and limit the size of the published file.
Allow for 40 percent text
expansion
The space needed to accommodate translated text will expand or contract
depending on the target language. A good rule of thumb is to allow for 40
percent text expansion.
When creating a Flash presentation, use text boxes that adjust automatically in
length based on the content and allow text to wrap within the text box. Apply
properties for font size and spacing to individual text boxes rather than as a
constant variable to all text boxes.
Continuous flow of text Sentences in the same paragraph, or words in the same sentence, should
always be part of the same text box, otherwise content may take longer than
usual to prepare.
Use static or dynamic text boxes to keep all related content within the same
text box either within Flash or the same XML mode.
Place content in external
XML files
All text content and image/video links should be stored in XML files external
to the Flash file. If content can’t be entirely externalized into XML, provide
confirmation on where the content resides. Allow for HTML coding to be
recognized for layout adjustment within the published SWF.
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3. Images
• Recommended software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (raster) Adobe Illustrator CS6 (vector)
• Why: Industry-standard software for creating images. Well supported and documented with good longevity.
A V O I D I N G P R O D U C T I O N I S S U E S
ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Include image source files in
your delivery
Unflatten image source files (with editable text layers),
such as .psd and .ai, to ensure localization teams can access text.
Place text and objects on
separate layers
To translate embedded text, linguists must access the text separately from the
graphic. Otherwise, the graphic may need to be re-created, resulting in extra
cost and a project delay.
Although text in vector-based programs like Illustrator can be selected
regardless of layer, placing text on its own layer speeds production.
Apply housekeeping rules to
layers, specifically:
• Name each layer descriptively
• Remove unnecessary layers
• Group similar layers using
the Group option in the
Layers palette (Photoshop
and Illustrator)
A messy Layers palette will increase the time required to localize a graphic.
Often, what’s clear to the designer is not clear to the translator (or the next
designer to work on the file). If hidden layers are not required for the deliverable,
you should delete them.
Remove unnecessary elements • If additional text layers not used in the published image are present, remove
them. Otherwise, content may be extracted for translation or kept in local-
ized PSD, increasing the file size.
• Remove non-text layers that aren’t used within the published image to re-
duce the file size and simplify publishing
• Lock any layers with non-editable text
Provide an English version of
the file in .jpg or .gif format
Translators compare the finished, translated image with the original English
version to ensure accuracy.
Don’t convert text to outlines
in Illustrator or rasterize text in
Photoshop
If an image requires outlines or rasterization, create a copy of the original text
layer, hide it and place it directly under the outlined or rasterized layer in the
Layers palette.
Use OpenType fonts OpenType fonts are the same regardless of operating systems, allowing them to
be used on a PC or Mac.
Use fonts consistently Avoid using a different font for a single letter in a string. If a new font family
is used, share it with the localization vendor so that the look and feel of the
localized images can match the source.
If preparing a graphic for the
Asian and Russian market and
using non-branded fonts, be
aware that localizers will use
the fonts you’ve approved for
each market
Due to language and font requirements, specific fonts may be used for Asian
and Russian languages and character display. Choosing a font that is UTF-8
compliant and supports Asian characters is ideal when creating source content
that will be localized. If a specific font for Asian languages needs to be applied,
you should include this as part of the deliverable. The localization team will use
specific fonts for the Asian market if provided by the developer.
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4. ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Include font files in your
delivery
Including fonts in your source files drop will ensure the localized graphic text
matches the original English.
Allow for 40 percent text
expansion when creating
graphics
The space needed to accommodate translated text will expand or contract
depending on the target language. A good rule of thumb is to allow for 40
percent text expansion when creating a graphic.
Multi-layer PSDs: Include image
published files in your delivery
Only one published file should be generated from one PSD.
If multi-layered PSDs must be provided, include the source published output
files and instructions (layers to hide/unhide, publishing dimensions, etc.).
Video
• Recommended software: Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 and Adobe After Effects CS6
• Why: Tool is accessible, cross-platform compatible, easy to use and offers various publishing formats including .flv
and .mp4, and allows cross-platform publishing, including .mov files, which are typically created for Mac.
A V O I D I N G P R O D U C T I O N I S S U E S
ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Hand-off both the video and the
script concurrently
Part of the localization process requires the localization partner to compare the
video and the script to ensure they are the same.
Always include the
uncompressed video in the
hand-off
Compressing the video prior to localization will degrade the quality, because
video must be decompressed, edited, and then recompressed.
Ensure source file ratio
matches that of the end
deliverables
For example, do not provide 16:9 ratio if the localized videos will be delivered in
4:3 format. If it doesn’t match, make sure you provide delivery size instructions.
Provide source video in the
format of the deliverables
Large format files increase the file size and impact transfer time, while smaller
format files create quality issues because the video will be stretched to meet
final output settings.
Files submitted to the localization vendor should match the specs for final
publishing. If the English file is 640 by 480 pixels, in 4:3 ratio, with 30 frames per
sec, then the deliverable will match these specs.
For the Web, videos should meet the following requirements:
800x450, 29.97 fps, 44.1 kHz for audio and stereo (if video contains
background music).
Include the soundtrack as a
separate component from the
sound-effect track
in the hand-off
This action will preserve background soundtrack and sound effects while
replacing the audio narration. Otherwise, fades in and out are required on the
soundtrack, with voice and soundtrack to remove only the English voice for the
localized video.
Consider delivering audio files in WAV format - 44.1 kHz - stereo/mono - 16 bit
Include the narration track as
a separate component in the
hand-off
This action applies only if the video includes people talking on-screen.
Consider delivering audio files in WAV format - 44.1 kHz - stereo/mono - 16 bit
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5. ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Add several key frames, freeze
frames, or splash screens
where video can be lengthened
without affecting overall look
and feel
Localized audio might be longer than the original narration for non-time-
sensitive video.
Avoid video sequencing that
includes constant animations
Because localized audio might be longer than the original, it’s important that the
video can be lengthened without breaking the animations.
Deliver video according to final
display medium, specifically:
• .flv for Web delivery
• .mp4 for iPhone/iPad
compatibility
These files are used as reference during the localization process and serve as
baseline for quality of end deliverables.
For video with onscreen text:
• Use static or light animated
onscreen text
• Provide the source video
without onscreen text in the
delivery
During the localization process, the localization team needs to recreate the
onscreen text.
This process will be more effective, have a better quality and will be less costly
if:
• There is no camera movement or complex text effect (like 3D text or compli-
cated handwriting effect)
• The recreation is based on the source video without onscreen text
If the video will be subtitled,
don’t place on-screen text
within the lower part of the
screen
Subtitles will appear within the bottom 20 to 25 percent of the screen. Names
of speakers and presenters may overlap with subtitles if they appear within the
bottom part of the screen. You should consider positioning text in the top part
of the screen.
Ensure that all text displayed
within the video appears within
the title safe area
The title safe area is the measured zone within the video frame that defines
where all visual elements should be contained to prevent elements from being
cropped out of the screen during transmission. This is especially important
when dealing with videos that will be broadcasted on a platform other than the
Web (for example, on television).
To view the title safe area within Adobe Premiere, activate the Title/Action safe
guides using the drop-down menu that appears below the composition screen.
Ensure that no voiceover
occurs during the transition
“bumpers”
No English audio should be audible during the transition part at the end
of videos or over the bumper. If unavoidable, the only exception would be
instances whereby the speaker says something to effect of, “If you require any
further information, please contact us” in the transition portion only. Nothing
should be heard over the bumper section.
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6. Videos must be published in MP4/H.264 and FLV formats.
The following table defines the publishing settings to be used in Adobe Premiere:
MP4/H.264 FLV
Format H.264 FLV
Multiplexing
Multiplexer MP4
Stream compatibility iPod
Video
Codec MainConcept.H.264 Video
TV Standard NTSC
Frame width 8001
8002
Frame height 4502
4502
Frame rate Same as source Same as source
Field order None (Progressive)
Pixel aspect ratio Square pixels
Profile Main
Level 4.0
Render at maximum depth Disabled Disabled
Bitrate encoding VBR, 2 Pass VBR
Target bitrate 2 Mbps
Maximum bitrate 2 Mpbs
Encoding passes Two
Bitrate level Custom
Bitrate 1000 kbps
Minimum bitrate (% target) 80
Maximum bitrate (% target) 120
Bitrate variability (% target) 80
Set key frame distance Enabled Disabled
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7. Key frame distance 30
Undershoot (% target) 100
Audio
Audio format AAC
Codec AAC MPEG Layer III (MP3)
Output channels Mono Mono
Frequency 48 kHz
Audio quality High
Bitrate settings 160 128
Precedence Bitrate
CREATING COLLATERAL: PRINTED DOCUMENTS
• Recommended software: InDesign CS6 or Word 2003/2007 or (newest version Word 2013)
• Why: InDesign allows localization into multilingual languages from the same version of software. (Quark requires
market-specific language versions.) Word can be used for documents with basic layout and limited artwork because it
requires limited manipulations for the translation process.
A V O I D I N G P R O D U C T I O N I S S U E S
ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Adapt the paper size for the
intended audience(s)
A4 for European and Asian markets and Letter size for North American markets.
If the document will be printed on multiple sizes of paper, consider adapting a
one-size-fits-most approach. For example, 8.26” x 11” will fit on both Letter size
and A4 paper.
Specify operating system,
software, and software version
For example:
• PC or Mac
• InDesign CS6 or InDesign CS6
Use OpenType fonts Since OpenType fonts are cross-platform compatible, they simplify desktop
publishing activities of localized documents. They are also free.
Design the document to allow
for text expansion
The space needed to accommodate translated text will expand or contract
depending on the target language. A good rule of thumb is to allow for 40
percent text expansion.
Adjust text boxes that are displayed either in horizontal or vertical layout to
accommodate expansion.
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8. ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Continuous flow of text Sentences in the same paragraph, or words in the same sentence, should
always be part of the same text box. Avoid inserting soft returns or hard returns
in the middle of a sentence.
Use column breaks intelligently and maintain text flow by ensuring that content
continues dynamically into the following column/page.
Include the .joboptions file in
the hand-off
The localization partner will use the same settings to output localized
documents, ensuring localized versions look and print similar to the original.
CREATING COLLATERAL: PRESENTATIONS
• Recommended software: MS PowerPoint 2003, 2007, 2010 or 2013
• Why: Leading software for creating presentations. PowerPoint is part of the MS Office suite, therefore easily
accessible.
A V O I D I N G P R O D U C T I O N I S S U E S
ACTION ISSUE AND EXPLANATION
Use OpenType fonts Since OpenType fonts are cross-platform compatible, they simplify desktop
publishing activities of localized documents.
Use fonts consistently Avoid using a different font for a single letter in a string. If a new font family
is leveraged that has not been used in the past, you should share it with the
localization vendor so that the look and feel of the localized images can match
the source.
Design the document to allow
for text expansion
The space needed to accommodate translated text will expand or contract
depending on the target language. A good rule of thumb is to allow for 40
percent text expansion.
Continuous flow of text Sentences in the same paragraph, or words in the same sentence, should
always be part of the same text box. Also avoid inserting soft returns or hard
returns in the middle of a sentence otherwise, content will take extra time to
prepare correctly for translation.
Use slide master and layouts
for repetitive content
Content repeating on every slide, such as titles, headings and background
images, should be placed on the slide master.
The key benefit to using slide masters is the possibility to make universal style
changes to every slide all at once, instead of one at a time.
Provide editable text If translatable text appears on images and graphics, include editable version
(PSD, AI) along with the PowerPoint presentation.
Consider placing editable text boxes in the PowerPoint file over the graphics
(assuming the graphics do not contain any text for translation), instead of
inserting published non-editable graphics that contain the text.
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9. GENERATING A LIST OF URLS IN DREAMWEAVER
Tools Used
• Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, CS4, or newest CS6
• MS Excel 2007, 2010 or newest 2013
Process
1. Open the HTML page or pages in Dreamweaver.
2. Click the Window menu and ensure that the Results palette is open.
3. In the Results palette, click the Search tab.
4. Click the green arrow to open the Find and Replace window.
5. In the Find and Replace window select the following:
• Find in (dropdown 1):
Current Document (if you have one HTML page open)
-- or --
Open Documents (if you have multiple HTML pages open)
• Search:
Specific Tag (dropdown 2); a (dropdown 3)
With Attribute (dropdown 4); href (dropdown 5); = (dropdown 6); [any value] (dropdown 7)
6. Click the Find All button. The list of URLs is generated in the Results palette.
7. Click the Save Report button.
8. Save the report as an XML file.
9. Launch Excel and open the report XML file.
9

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10. When prompted in the ‘Open XML’ dialog, select the first radio button.
11. The URLs are listed under the column titled ‘mm_displaystr’.
NOTE: If all the HTML files are located in one folder, it is possible to select the folder. In this case, select Folder… in the
Find in: section as illustrated below.
RECOMMENDED READING
Esselink, Bert. “A Practical Guide to Localization”. John Benjamins Publishing Co. 2000.
Singh, Nitish. The Culturally Customized Web Site. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005.