Localization is the process of customizing a document or asset to a different language or different images to match the population for a specific area. The goal of localization is to ensure that each recipient of the asset has an equitable experience that is comparable to the original version.

I strongly believe that all people deserve to get the information that they need, and the language that they speak should not be a barrier. Language equity is a particular passion of mine, but also a useful skill in our increasingly global economy.

I have done many localization projects, and I have even created a process to train people on how to write for translation.

In the example above, A represents the initial design. B is a version created by a translator. The translated text was pasted over the original text. When edits were needed to the Arabic text, it could not be edited because the translations were image files. C is the version that I created. I first looked for an Arabic font that would match the style of the original design, a bold font. I also made sure the text was aligned properly for Arabic readers. For other parts of this social media toolkit, I also updated the images to ensure that they were culturally appropriate.

The benefit of having a typesetter make changes to documents instead of a translator is that the final product will deliver your message effectively to different audiences.

Beyond typesetting, I am also experienced in working with many languages simultaneously, and I have created a process that allows me to work in multiple languages at once. I have managed projects in up to 12 languages simultaneously.