Elijah Macaranas

Title of Work:

Web Design and Layout in Japan

Abstract:

This research is about the website design and layout Japanese developers uses on their websites and how are they different from the western world, and what are those attributes that makes them Japanese or vice versa. The purpose of this research project is to define whether web design choices and attributes has a cultural significance to Japan, and how are they different in the US. To fulfill the research, I have used snippets of website and observed them for any significant design choices that otherwise would not show up on the other website. For example, text amount, the splash of color, the use of positive/negative space, to name a few. I have found that text amount is important on a Japanese website for linguistic reasons, web design is not a culturally neutral medium, and that trends on the web design platform change over time. I hope that this research will help aspiring web developers designing foreign websites for otherwise foreign customers.

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript:

Hello everyone, my name is Elijah Macaranas and I am a 5th year student in the Japanese 2020 cohort. I am studying Computer Science and Comparative Cultural Studies with a Japanese Minor and an Emphasis on Asian Studies. I am currently studying abroad in Osaka, Japan over at Kansai University and taking classes to finish my CCS degree.

To be honest, asides from exploring the cities, I have not traveled much but I have been to some places. Universal Studios Japan or Banpaku-koen, to name a couple. I have been enjoying my time here very much and I very very much want to extend my 6 month stay if possible. Learning the language has been quite a challenge but the more I know of it, the more I can interact with my Japanese friends and student abroad peers. Learning about my newly made friends' culture and sharing mine as well has been a delight so far.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get an internship on time so my Summit presentation will be focused on a research paper I have done with the help of Dr. Gulacsi. The research is about web design and layout of the websites in Japan and how they might differ from the ones we see there in the US and what attributes each might have to reel in their users. I have uploaded a snippet of both NAU's and Kansai University's websites. As you can see, the use of positive and negative space, the text amount each website use differ from one another hinting that there might be a cultural resemblance in design choices.