1

Whilst adding on-boarding screens to our mobile app and we've identified a scenario around translation and support for right-to-left (which I've now discovered to be known as bi-di) guestures.

I found one article on here from a few years ago (Do mobile and touch gestures impact bidirectional screen convention? Any UX research?) but wanted to resurface the discussion and see if anyone has any recent insights on bi-di usability.

Are users of a right-to-left language (Arabic, Hebrew, etc), expecting to interact with and swipe through a list in the direction of their language?

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

I have no personal experience on this but I have some references that might respond to the question.

In Google Material guide - Bidirectionality the flow of the app is supposed to be mirrored for Right to Left languages:

An arrow pointing right to left indicates forward motion: ←

If the interface is mirrored, the flow and motion are mirrored, it makes sense to me that gestures that facilitate those actions are also mirrored.

The article gives also some scenarios when not to mirror some elements and actions. Check these too.

Improve this answer
0

It'd say yes. because their mental models have been tuned that forward is to from right to left. This would impact not just reading, but would affect other aspect as well.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Bi directional flow is important for reading, but, i am not too sure if the gestures need to be adjusted accordingly as well. Gestures as a behaviour is always driven as per the specific use case/ design methodology. With that said, it might be a good idea to look at a few arabic apps, and see how they tackle this. I havent had the chance to use any such apps unfortunately
    – JustAnotherPM
    Nov 14, 2016 at 8:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.