Translation is content design, too

Translation is content design, too.

Translators do much more than simply "replacing" the language used in a product or app.

They know which strategies to use to accommodate differences between locales, all without losing the original meaning and intent of the text.

Conceptual systems

Translators can create (monolingual or bilingual) conceptual systems to organize knowledge in a given domain and show how concepts connect.

Level of specialization

Translators decide which language to translate the document into.

Who are the authors and readers?

Expert-to-expert, expert-to-semi-expert and expert-to-layperson communication require different choices in terms of voice, tone and style.

Terminology

Translators manage specialized terminology.

They may pair with a subject matter expert (SME) to learn key terms and then record them in a bilingual glossary or termbase.

They may also add definitions, example sentences and links alongside their suggested translations to make specialized language more consistent and accessible across channels.

Voice and tone

Translators align terminology with brand voice and product positioning in each locale.

Structure and flow

Translators can change the syntax to make the text more effective and reduce cognitive load.

Cultural references

Translators often localize cultural references that may be unclear in other regions.

UX audit

Translators flag ambiguities or UX issues in the source text before translating.

They also adapt microcopy to local expectations (error messages, CTAs, onboarding flows).

Information architecture

Translators adjust the layout (font type, size and color, use of white space) to reflect the information hierarchy.

Translators understand how each piece of content, localized or not fits into the bigger picture, the end-to-end experience.

Many of the daily processes linguists handle fall under the broad umbrella of translation, yet there's so much more to it.

It's quiet work, often invisible, but it determines how clearly and consistently a product speaks to an entirely new audience.

Here are links to all the projects, both client and personal, I referenced throughout this post.

Helping food safety experts communicate across languages

An Italian foodservice company needed to translate a set of 7 food safety regulations for their corporate partners in the UK. Here’s how I helped them achieve their goal.

Elisa TrippettiElisa Trippetti

Supporting an MVP launch with content

I was challenged to design a set of content guidelines to support the launch of a fictional digital product of my choice. Here’s how I went about it.

Elisa TrippettiElisa Trippetti

Optimizing a localized website with usability testing

I conducted a usability test on foodspring, an international wellness and fitness brand. In particular, I involved 3 users to test the desktop version of their localized Italian website. Here’s the process I adopted and what I found.

Elisa TrippettiElisa Trippetti

Delivering bad news with better microcopy

I wrote microcopy to deliver bad news to app users. The two scenarios I worked on were a canceled flight and a late delivery. Here’s how I created and then improved the copy.

Elisa TrippettiElisa Trippetti

Read more from me

I'm Elisa, an Italian content designer with a background in localization and customer service. This is where I document my life in UX and writing.

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