12/03/2025
I’ve received so many amazing comments from Asian designers sharing their perspectives on Western vs. Asian UX—and turns out, it’s way more complex than just East vs. West.
🌏 UX is shaped by more than just regional culture—it’s influenced by language, local traditions, and even how users expect to process information. Here’s what I learned from designers across Asia:
🇨🇳 Chinese design prioritizes efficiency and all-in-one functionality, often packing multiple features into homepages. But interestingly, many Chinese designers aren’t fully happy with how dense their apps are—they hope Western minimalism and accessibility improvements will shape future UI.
🇹🇼 Taiwanese designers have embraced Western minimalism, but now some wonder—is it too minimal? Since Chinese-language users are naturally comfortable with information-dense screens, would a more detailed UI actually improve engagement?
🇯🇵 Japanese users expect detailed, information-heavy UIs, as empty space (Samishii | 寂しい) can feel unsettling—almost like the designer didn’t put in enough effort. Also, Japanese graphical design has influenced UX across Asia, shaping both Korean and Taiwanese minimalism.
🇰🇷 Korean UX is the most versatile, balancing dense super apps like Naver and Alipay with ultra-minimal, clean apps. Korean aesthetics lean toward Scandinavian minimalism, especially in home and interior design. Additionally, Korean is structurally closer to English, which might explain why its UI feels more familiar to Western users.
💬 Have you noticed these differences in the apps you use? Let’s discuss! 👀👇
