Anyone who has done UX work in Asia, or even just spent much time looking at Asian websites, knows that East Asian sites typically feature more visually complex designs, with a greater density of information and interactive elements, than those from America and Europe. Observers in the UX community and beyond have offered a number of explanations for these differences in design, including a less mature UX ecosystem, higher Internet bandwidth, a greater cultural need for assurance, and more complex urban environments. In this presentation, I will first examine these existing explanations, concluding that each falls short of providing a compelling answer. Next, I will offer a novel explanation: Drawing on recent research in experimental psychology, I will argue that a tendency in East Asian cultures towards more contextually rich and relational processing in comparison to American and European cultures is responsible for these differences in web design. I will conclude with a summary of best practices for designing user experiences across cultural contexts, emphasizing the importance of user research, respect for cultural differences, and the use of flexible templates for multinational sites.

1. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
How do Asian and
Western websites differ,
and why?
Jason Buhle, PhD
Hannah Faye Chua, PhD

2. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com

3. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Who Are We?

4. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Who Are We?

5. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Who Are We?

6. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
AnswerLab is Hiring!

7. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
AnswerLab is Hiring!
Senior or Mid-level Qualitative
Researcher→
San Francisco
or anywhere on the West Coast→

8. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Keep It Simple

9. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Keep It Simple
https://www.enterprise.com/
This…

10. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Keep It Simple
https://www.enterprise.com/ http://www.lingscars.com/
This… …not this

11. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Keep It Simple

12. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Keep It Simple
http://www.apple.com/watch/buy/
This…

13. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Keep It Simple
http://www.apple.com/watch/buy/ http://www.arngren.net
This… …not this

14. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
But Not Everywhere Keeps It
Simple

15. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
But Not Everywhere Keeps It
Simple
http://www.qq.com/ http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ http://www.daum.net/
China
News
South Korea
Portal
Japan
E-Commerce

16. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
But Not Everywhere Keeps It
Simple
http://www.qq.com/ http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ http://www.daum.net/
China
News
South Korea
Portal
Japan
E-Commerce

17. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
But Not Everywhere Keeps It
Simple
http://www.qq.com/ http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ http://www.daum.net/
China
News
South Korea
Portal
Japan
E-Commerce

18. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
But Not Everywhere Keeps It
Simple
http://www.qq.com/ http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ http://www.daum.net/
China
News
South Korea
Portal
Japan
E-Commerce

19. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Why Are Asian and Western
Websites So Different?

20. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Why Are Asian and Western
Websites So Different?
http://randomwire.com/why-japanese-web-design-is-so-different/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/what-silicon-valley-can-learn-from-seoul.html
http://uxmastery.com/ux-design-asia-maturing/

21. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
The Contenders: Existing
Theories
Maturity Bandwidth Language
Assurance Landscape

22. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity

23. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Yahoo, 2016
Maturity

24. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Via WayBack Machine
Yahoo, 1999 Yahoo, 2016
Maturity

25. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity

26. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity
The Argument
→Asian Sites Are
Immature

27. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity
The Argument
→Asian Sites Are
Immature
Yahoo, U.S., 1999 PPOMPPU, South Korea, 2016
http://www.ppomppu.co.kr/Via WayBack Machine

28. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity
The Argument
→Asian Sites Are
Immature ❌ Asian Technology
But…

29. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity
The Argument
→Asian Sites Are
Immature ❌ Asian Technology
But…

30. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Maturity
The Argument
→Asian Sites Are
Immature ❌ Asian Technology
But…

31. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth

32. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
The Argument
→

33. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
Akamai
The Argument
→

34. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
Akamai
Asia
The Argument
→

35. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
Akamai
Asia
U.S.
The Argument
→

36. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
The Asian
Internet Is Also
Slower
Akamai
Asia
U.S.
The Argument But…
→ ❌

37. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
The Asian
Internet Is Also
Slower
Akamai
Asia
U.S.
Asia
Asia
Asia
The Argument But…
→ ❌
Asia
Asia

38. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Bandwidth
The Asian
Internet Is Faster
The Asian
Internet Is Also
Slower
The Trend Is in the
Wrong Direction
The Argument But…
→ ❌
❌

39. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language

40. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
→
The Argument

41. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
→
The Argument

42. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
I do not speak Chinese
→
The Argument

43. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
I do not speak Chinese
→ ❌
The Argument But…

44. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
I do not speak Chinese
→ ❌
ฉันไม่พูดภาษาไทย
나는 한국어를 못하는
I do not speak Korean
I do not speak Thai
The Argument But…

45. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
More Text, Not
Less
I do not speak Chinese
→ ❌
❌
ฉันไม่พูดภาษาไทย
나는 한국어를 못하는
I do not speak Korean
I do not speak Thai
The Argument But…

46. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
More Text, Not
Less
http://www.qq.com/ (China)
→ ❌
❌
The Argument But…

47. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
Capitalization
and Italicization
More Text, Not
Less
→ ❌
❌
→
The Argument But…

48. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
Capitalization
and Italicization
More Text, Not
Less
→ ❌
❌
→
The Argument But…
http://www.jd.com/ (China)

49. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
Capitalization
and Italicization
More Text, Not
Less
→ ❌
❌
→
The Argument But…
http://www.jd.com/ (China)

50. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
Capitalization
and Italicization
More Text, Not
Less
❌ Limited on Western
Sites
→ ❌
❌
→
The Argument But…
http://www.jd.com/ (China)

51. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
Capitalization
and Italicization
More Text, Not
Less
❌ Limited on Western
Sites
→ ❌
❌
→
The Argument But…
https://www.amazon.com/ (U.S.)

52. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Language
Writing Density
Partially
Logographic
Systems, Alphabets,
& Abugidas
Capitalization
and Italicization
More Text, Not
Less
❌ Limited on Western
Sites
→ ❌
❌
→
The Argument But…
https://www.amazon.com/ (U.S.)

53. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance

54. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims→
The Argument

55. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/arlqn/1200008000af0072/ (Japan)
→
The Argument

56. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/arlqn/1200008000af0072/ (Japan)
→
The Argument

57. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
Non-Informational
Content
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/arlqn/1200008000af0072/ (Japan)
→ ❌
The Argument But…

58. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
Non-Informational
Content
http://www.goo.ne.jp/ (Japanese news site)
→ ❌
The Argument But…
http://www.jd.com/ (China)

59. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
Non-Informational
Content
❌
Information per
Pagehttp://www.goo.ne.jp/ (Japanese news site)
→ ❌
The Argument But…
http://www.jd.com/ (China)

60. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
Non-Informational
Content
❌
Information per
Page
→ ❌
The Argument But…
Wang et al., 2012

61. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Assurance
Hesitant to
Accept Claims
Non-Informational
Content
❌
Information per
Page
→ ❌
The Argument But…
Wang et al., 2012

62. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape

63. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape→
The Argument

64. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape
Tokyo Hong KongSeoul
→
The Argument
Miyamoto et al., 2006

65. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape
Correlation
≠
Causation
Tokyo Hong KongSeoul
→ ❌
The Argument But…
Miyamoto et al., 2006

66. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape
Correlation
≠
CausationAlong the River During the Qingming Festival
→ ❌
The Argument But…

67. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape
Correlation
≠
CausationAlong the River During the Qingming Festival
Masuda et al., 2008
→ ❌
The Argument But…

68. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape
Correlation
≠
CausationAlong the River During the Qingming Festival
Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle
Masuda et al., 2008
→ ❌
The Argument But…

69. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Landscape
Complexity of
Urban Landscape
Correlation
≠
Causation
Huang & Park, 2013
Japan Los Angeles
→ ❌
The Argument But…

70. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Why Are Asian and Western
Websites So Different?
Maturity Bandwidth Language
Assurance Landscape

71. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Why Are Asian and Western
Websites So Different?

72. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Richard E. Nisbett, PhD

73. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
“You know, the
difference between
you and me is that I
think the world is a
circle, and you think
it’s a line.”
Richard E. Nisbett, PhD

74. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
“The Chinese...pay attention to a
wide range of events; they search
for relationships between things;
and they think you can’t understand
the part without understanding the
whole. Westerners live in a simpler,
more deterministic world; they focus
on salient objects or people
instead of the larger picture….”
Richard E. Nisbett, PhD

75. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Richard E. Nisbett, PhD

76. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Cognitive Processing
Tendencies
Attention Context Information

77. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Attention
Masuda & Nisbett, 2001

78. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Attention
Chua, Boland, & Nisbett, 2005

79. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Attention
Chua, Boland, & Nisbett, 2005

80. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Attention
Chua, Boland, & Nisbett, 2005

81. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Attention
https://www.renttherunway.com/ http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ (Japan)

82. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
Ji, Peng, & Nisbett, 2000

83. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
Morris & Peng, 1994

84. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context

85. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/ (Taiwanese news site)

86. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/ (Taiwanese news site)

87. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/ (Taiwanese news site)

88. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/ (Taiwanese news site)

89. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/ (Taiwanese news site)

90. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Context
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/ (Taiwanese news site)

91. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information

92. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information
Choi et al., 2003
“A graduate student murdered a professor”

93. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information
Choi et al., 2003
“A graduate student murdered a professor”
Ji et al., 2008

94. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information

95. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information
Wang et al., 2012

96. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information
Wang et al., 2012 Li et al., 2014

97. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
InformationInformation

98. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information
https://tw.yahoo.com/ (Taiwan)
Information

99. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Information
https://tw.yahoo.com/ (Taiwan) https://us.yahoo.com/ (USA)
Information

100. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?

101. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
❌ Move Countries

102. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
❌ Move Countries

103. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American

104. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development

105. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
Senzaki et al., 2014
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development DrawingsCollages

106. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
Senzaki et al., 2014
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development Drawings
Canada
Collages
Japan

107. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
Senzaki et al., 2014
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development Drawings
Canada
Collages
Japan

108. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
Senzaki et al., 2014
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development Drawings
Canada
Collages
Japan

109. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
Senzaki et al., 2014
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development
❌ Induction
Drawings
Canada
Collages
Japan

110. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development
❌ Induction
Hong & Morris, 2000

111. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Is This Nature or Nurture?
❌ Move Countries
❌ Asian American
❌ Child Development
❌ Induction
Hong & Morris, 2000
Peng & Knowles, 2003
“Recall an experience you had that
made your identity as
an American [Asian] apparent to you.”

112. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Then Where Does It Come
From?

113. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Then Where Does It Come
From?
Culture reinforces itself

114. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Then Where Does It Come
From?
Culture reinforces itself But where did it all begin?

115. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Then Where Does It Come
From?
Culture reinforces itself But where did it all begin?
? Social Structure

116. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Then Where Does It Come
From?
Culture reinforces itself But where did it all begin?
? Social Structure
? Philosophy

117. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Then Where Does It Come
From?
Culture reinforces itself But where did it all begin?
? Social Structure
? Philosophy
? Food Acquisition

118. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
So What Does This Mean for
Me?

119. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
So What Does This Mean for
Me?
✓ Guidelines Are Just Guidelines

120. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
So What Does This Mean for
Me?
✓
✓
Guidelines Are Just Guidelines
Do the Research

121. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
So What Does This Mean for
Me?
✓
✓
Guidelines Are Just Guidelines
Do the Research
✓ Respect Your Users

122. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
So What Does This Mean for
Me?
✓
✓
Guidelines Are Just Guidelines
Do the Research
✓ Respect Your Users
✓ Build Flexible Templates https://tw.yahoo.com/ (Taiwan) https://us.yahoo.com/ (USA)

123. Jason Buhle, PhD
@jasonbuhle
jbuhle@answerlab.com
Thank you!
Jason Buhle, PhD
UX Researcher
jasonbuhle@gmail.com
Hannah Faye Chua, PhD
Lead UX Researcher
hfc.work@gmail.com