Beyond Aesthetics: Competitive Analysis & UX Audits
Understanding cultural nuance, platform behavior, and market context to deliver relevant, localized digital experiences.
Why Audits Aren’t One-Size-Fits-All?
When designing for global audiences, aesthetic consistency isn’t enough. Each region has its own expectations, digital habits, and communication norms—and what works in one market can feel completely tone-deaf in another.
Across projects with Adobe, CJ Foods, Google, and UNSW, we took a deep dive into market-specific behaviors and cultural UX patterns to uncover why certain platforms were falling short—and how to realign them to local realities without sacrificing global brand identity.
Looking Beyond the SurfaceGlobal Consistency vs. Local Relevance
A visually clean layout or direct translation isn’t always effective. In markets like Korea or Japan, a literal translation of UI copy and brand imagery often reads like a machine-generated placeholder. The result? Disconnected experiences that feel foreign, even when branded.
In Adobe's case, local users described the Korean site as “too formal” and “hard to trust.” Our heuristic audit revealed that key visuals, tone, and user flows failed to meet cultural expectations—feeling more like a translation than a tailored experience.
How We Got There
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Step 1
Desk research to understand regional platforms, norms, and industry benchmarks
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Step 2
Voice of Customer (VoC) analysis through comments, reviews, and internal feedback
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Step 3
User interviews and walkthroughs in key APAC markets (Japan, Korea, China)
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Step 4
Heuristic evaluations adapted to each region's digital ecosystem
Localized Audits : 4 Perspectives
To sharpen our approach, we didn’t just follow a universal audit framework — we refined it to align with each client’s specific needs and market dynamics.
From cross-cultural heuristics to channel-specific experience reviews, each audit was tailored with clear focus areas and grounded in relevant local insights to ensure meaningful recommendations.
| Project | Focus | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe | Cross-cultural UX audit |
Identified gaps between global site tone and local communication norms, highlighting cultural misalignments that impacted user trust.
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| CJ Foods | Market positioning & CX review | Uncovered fragmented brand voice and touchpoint inconsistencies, revealing opportunities to unify customer experience. |
| Google Ads | WeChat UX design for China | Benchmarked competitors like Line (Japan) and KakaoTalk (Korea) to shape localized design strategies suited for Chinese user behaviors. |
| UNSW | Digital ecosystem audit | Analyzed content structure and navigation flow, offering targeted adjustments to improve relevance and regional usability. |
Outcome → ActionThis wasn’t just about identifying what was wrong.
Each audit translated into actionable outcomes:
Clear market benchmarks, revealing where each brand stood in its competitive landscape
Targeted recommendations, bridging gaps through user behavior and cross-cultural insights
Ideal positioning maps, aligned with industry and local best practices
A unified, localized customer journey, connecting digital touchpoints across language, culture, and platform
What I learned