Tesco Localization
Goals and challenges
- Convert the layout to a right-to-left structure.
- Replace imagery with visuals people in the region relate to.
- Update typography for comfortable Arabic reading.
- Adjust the palette to regional preferences while keeping Tesco’s identity and hierarchy.
The hard parts were finding Arabic equivalents for every visual element, keeping the brand intact, and checking Arabic legibility at every size on the page.
Before and after
The goal was to preserve Tesco’s brand and UX hierarchy while making the page intuitive and emotionally relevant for shoppers in Palestine and the wider region.
What changed
Layout flip
The whole structure was mirrored to follow Arabic reading flow: navigation, content blocks and footer.
Arabic typography
Arabic-friendly typefaces with adjusted size and line spacing for comfortable reading.
Imagery
Western photos replaced with relatable scenes of local families, food and lifestyle.
Colour and tone
Less UK blue, more green and beige for freshness and trust; offers rewritten in local expressions.
Principles applied: Jakob’s law kept the core structure familiar, proximity kept groups scannable in RTL, and Fitts’s law kept targets usable on mobile.
Reflection
Localization is more than flipping text. Icons with direction must flip while symmetrical controls stay put, and the hardest part is finding Arabic equivalents for every visual without breaking the brand.
