Using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions as a framework, we localized key elements of IKEA India's homepage to reflect the country’s unique cultural values. The adapted interface prioritizes national pride, helpful information, and local accessibility, ensuring that IKEA’s online presence aligns with user expectations while also respecting existing design system constraints.
Impact & Overview
Key Results
Applied Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions to assess Indian vs. Western interface interactions
Adjustments made: nationalistic imagery, simplified navigation, localized language support
Introduced practical features: product specs tab and virtual assistant for user expectations
Retained global branding while improving cultural alignment through ethnographic insights
Enhanced usability for Indian users via clarity, local representation, and high-context visuals
From research insights, delivered scalable feature-level enhancements over layout overhauls
How might we help IKEA adapt its global homepage to better reflect Indian cultural norms and expectations?
Over a two-week sprint, I worked with a cross-functional team to culturally adapt IKEA's homepage for the Indian market. Our challenge was enhancing cultural relevance and clarity while maintaining global design standards, honoring Indian values within existing brand components.
Discovery
India’s cultural dimensions offered actionable guidance for design adaptation.
We used Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model to identify behavioral patterns likely to influence user needs in India. Six key metrics shaped our design recommendations:
Opportunity
Nationalistic Imagery
77
India scores a 77 on Power Distance, indicating an appreciation for leadership, positions of power, and nationalistic ideals.
Opportunity
Cooperative Features
48
India scores a 48 on Individualism, indicating a society that shares both collective and individualistic values.
Opportunity
Masculine Imagery
56
India scores a 56 on Masculinity, indicating an appreciation for displays of individual success and power.
Opportunity
Simple Navigation
40
India scores a 40 on Uncertainty Avoidance, indicating an acceptance of imperfection and a somewhat warm adjustment to current circumstances.
51
India scores a 51 on Long Term Orientation, indicating an affinity for quality products and services.
Opportunity
Helpful Information
26
India scores a 26 on Indulgence, indicating a culture of restraint and appreciation of helpful, practical, and communal products and services.
We also reviewed competing e-commerce platforms in India to understand user interface norms. Through competitive analysis, we validated our assumption that clear, informative, and community-oriented design patterns would resonate best.
Solution
Design updates balanced cultural alignment with IKEA's UI constraints.
Using IKEA’s existing component library, we proposed culturally-aligned adaptations to homepage content and features that reflected our research insights while maintaining development feasibility. Our key recommendations included:
1. Nationalistic and Masculine Imagery: Based on India’s scores on Power Distance and Masculinity, we recommend incorporating high contrast imagery, as well as visual elements of nationalistic pride and individual success.
2. Concise and Helpful Information: Based on India’s scores on Long Term Orientation and Indulgence, we recommended adding practical feature tabs for product specs, build instructions, and company offers, as well as a virtual assistant chat box for user support and accessibility.
3. Linear Navigation: Based on India’s score on Uncertainty Avoidance, we emphasized a more linear, guided navigation style. User’s should have multiple options to choose from, but in a way that reduces decision fatigue and supports cognitive ease.
4. Localization Features: Based on IKEA’s constraint to localize recommendations, we also recommended adding a dropdown menu for local languages. This menu would be localized via the user’s location within the country, displaying their local language based on their location.
These proposed recommendations were tested in design critiques with our peers and instructors, resulting in refinements that made the layout feel more regionally intuitive, empowering, and accessible, without diverging from IKEA’s system norms.
Iteration
Design critiques and cultural review helped refine the tone and layout.
Given our short timeline, iteration occurred within two rounds of peer and mentor feedback. We received targeted critique on visual hierarchy, information architecture, and cultural clarity. Notable changes included:
Swapping leather products for fabric to avoid offending users with animal-based materials
Enhancing color contrast and button placement for improved usability
Simplifying content groupings within existing layout constraints to support first-time users
Each update we made was in direct response to feedback aligned with our research insights. If given more time, we would have tested key features like the language dropdown and product specs tab to ensure clarity and reduce friction across India’s diverse user base.
Conclusion
Reflecting on cross-cultural UX design and future opportunities:
This project taught us how cultural influences affect UX expectations. Designing for non-Western audiences required adapting global assumptions to local expectations through ethnographic research, all while balancing brand constraints with cultural sensitivity and practical decisions.
If we had more time, we would conduct usability testing with Indian users and further iterate based on real behavior. We’d also explore adaptive interface patterns that shift based on region and language, helping IKEA create a more scalable international UX strategy.
Ultimately this sprint sharpened our ability to localize product experiences with empathy, rigor, and an eye for cultural nuance.
