It's weirdly cluttered, but it works.

Here's why.

These two are both payment apps.

One is from China, and one is from USA.

They both serve the same purpose, which is to send and receive money.

Why do they look so different?

Also, this doesn't just stop at software design.

Culture affects human behavior and perception.

But what is culture?

Culture is our mental programming.

But I'm wondering, how does cultural psychology impact software and app design?

China has 1.4 billion people, more than a sixth of the world human population.

Which means in China, new internet products amass millions of users in months, maybe even weeks.

The scale is unlike anything that the West has ever seen.

So why does this rise at the top?

After scouring through research papers, talks from scientists on culture, and software design articles,

I answer these questions.

Why does Chinese app design work?

How does physical space relate to this?

Why would Chinese users prefer mobile over desktop apps?

And finally, how might all of this affect us?

This is not to generalize Chinese or Western culture.

This is based on my own research and my experiences traveling to and living in China.

With that said, let's dive into the design psychology of Chinese apps.

Why is this cluttered design actually necessary?

We'll start with the concept of super apps.

A few years ago, near the end of COVID, my dad was at a grocery store in China.

He got his groceries, went up to the cashier, and took out his wallet to get some cash.

He put the cash on the table, and the cashier just looked at him.

This grocery store not only did not take cash, they refused credit cards.

And the only way to pay there was through WeChat Pay.

Turns out, it's not just this grocery store.

The vast majority of businesses and stores in China have adopted the use of WeChat as their main source of payment.

WeChat, in this case, has become a super app.

An all-encompassing app.

Sure, WeChat started off as a messaging app just like iMessage, but it has quickly expanded and grown in features, where people can now send money to each other, browse short-form content like TikTok, and message each other, all on WeChat.

This is the same for 支付宝, which is another popular payment application.

Look how much there is.

Each individual thing on here is a separate feature.

So in China, it's now actually hard to pay with any other method, like cash or credit card.

In other words, if you don't use super apps like WeChat, you're weeded out.

Wait, that makes no sense.

Won't shops just go out of business that way?

Why would people prefer these singular apps?

I'll explain starting from this clip.

On your way to the office, a message comes in from your boss.

Can you grab them a coffee?

They pay you back in a different app.

You go to another app to place an order for pickup.

And your mobile wallet needs to be updated.

Okay, there.

Now, coffee, which took four apps to accomplish.

But in China, it takes just one.

WeChat, a super app.

Some of the most used applications in China, such as WeChat, Meituan, and 支付宝, all started off as single-function apps.

But they've expanded to become this all-in-one tool.

In what Americans might think as cluttered, weird design, here, they become a superpower.

To Chinese users, they are very reassuring and have a seamless user experience.

Why? Well, they work everywhere.

Because you're only using one app, you don't have to worry about closing and opening a bunch of different apps, setting a bunch of different passwords.

And remember that QR code scanning feature?

All of these apps have a QR scanning feature.

And so when businesses and people align to use the same products, everything works seamlessly.

China can do this because of its collectivist culture, which have communities that prioritize the needs of a group rather than any single individual.

Collectivism in China allowed for a wide adoption of several products.

People are willing to learn a behavior that's inconvenient at first on an individual level, but extremely useful for the collective whole.

In this case, the adoption of WeChat Pay everywhere.

Hello, Jack of all trades, master of none.

Doesn't trying to be good at everything makes it so that nothing is good?

Well, not if you consider the taocan experience.

Taocan means combo.

We see this when we're ordering food from a fast food restaurant.

Chinese people want their user experience to be like a McDonald's Happy Meal.

Let me explain.

For example, this.

This is the Chinese version of Google Maps, but it's not just a map.

It's also Uber.

You can book rides through this as well.

Not only that, you can compare the prices across 10 different apps, all on this one map application.

Isn't that bonkers?

It feels like your life is just taken care of with this one app, which is exactly what this design goes for.

This gives people a ton of reassurance.

So that makes sense.

Cluttered design means more information means more reassurance.

In my video on Japanese web design,

I talked about high-context culture.

Turns out it's the same here.

A research paper that compared

Chinese and Western user interfaces found that both the design and user experience of WeChat may be specifically tailored for a target user group whose thinking and behavioral patterns are holistic, polychronic, meaning multitasking, and high-context.

In a high-context society, we believe good, effective communication is a communication that's more implicit or layered or nuanced.

So with this indirect, more nuanced way of communicating, that makes sense why there's so much detail on all of these designs.

So how does physical space impact this cluttered design?

Show me what your home looks like, and I can tell you what kind of person you are.

Turns out there's a big correlation between what China looks like physically versus what goes on their digital interfaces.

People are used to the space that they live in, so they're accustomed to the experiences that they're familiar with.

And in this case, it's a busy environment.

This clip is from a city walk in Chengdu, China.

We see big, lavish decorations in its architecture and big neon signs wherever there is people.

I mean, look at these food stands.

This is the norm.

Lots and lots of information all around you.

Let's compare this to America's busiest city,

Manhattan, New York.

Yes, there are still lots of lights, lots of people everywhere, but we don't see that same amount of information

Things don't seem to be as flashy or cluttered.

We see this also in decorations during Chinese New Year, where everything is just red and flashy.

So it makes sense that interfaces are also info-heavy.

Just take a look at this.

Gotta love this dude. We love Xiao Ma.

In China, where there's space, there's information.

Wait, I don't get it.

If Chinese users prefer dense information, why are all these apps mobile?

Isn't that like the smallest screen size you can use?

Well, my dear, this can be explained by mobile leapfrogging.

Leapfrogging, it's just as it sounds.

You leap over something.

In this case, China bypassed the use of traditional personal computers and preferred to use phones because they're cheaper.

They're cheaper to produce, to manufacture, and therefore cheaper to buy.

So the supply-demand environment was conducive to rapid mobile expansion.

Chinese users adopted a stronger preference for mobile experiences, preferring this in-the-pocket, on-the-go convenience.

But what is culture?

Culture is our mental programming.

Indeed, and in this case, culture programmed Chinese users to enjoy apps that have thousands of features so that they take care of you in just an overall comprehensive, happy meal experience.

So how does this impact us?

What can we learn about Chinese app design?

This is for the fellow designers, software developers, engineers.

When you're creating something, create with culture in mind.

Sometimes less is not more.

How can we better localize products so that everyone in the world can use them?

The lens through which your brain sees the world shapes your reality.

If you can change the lens, not only can you change the way you perceive other people's behaviors, but you can allow yourself to see the world in someone else's perspective.

When you see something like this, try to stop yourself from making immediate judgments like, this is so messy, so cluttered, so busy.

But understand, where is it coming from?

Who is it designed for?

What do you think about this design?

Would you find it cluttered?

Do you hate it?

Or do you love it?

As Bruce Lee said, if we cling to any artistic technique, it can limit our artistic expression.

By changing your lens when you're designing for different audiences, you can create things that impact people everywhere.

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