Re: [libreoffice-marketing] Re: [libreoffice-design] New templates contest

On 22/12/14 14:27, Milan Bouchet-Valat wrote:

> I don't understand what's so country-specific in a template.

Depends upon what the template is to be used for.

The United States uses its own system of weights and measurements, even
though it was one of the first countries to pass legislation legalizing,
and encouraging its usage.

Colour schemes tend to be country specific:
* Orange, White, and Blue used to be the dominant background colours in
South Africa.
* Green & Red were the dominant background colours in Libya;
* Red, Blue, and White are the dominant background colours in the United
States;

Usages can be country specific.
By way of example:
* Accounting Templates that meet all legal requirements for Germany,
fail to meet all of the legal requirements for the United States, and
has things that are unnecessary for US Legal compliance. They may, but
probably don't meet the legal requirements of France, or the United Kingdom;
* Fuel usage. Depending upon where one lives, this is measured in:
# Miles per gallon;
# Kilometres per litre;
# Litres per 100 kilometres;
# Something else;
* Human Resource Management: Things that are legal to ask in one
country, are illegal to ask in other countries, and mandatory questions
in still other countries;
* Font style: I always get this mixed up. I _think_ it is Sans Serif for
the United States, and Serif for Europe. But it might be the other way
around.

> Cannot templates be made mostly country-neutral if contributors are
asked to avoid adding too nationally-rooted details?

"Nationally-rooted" implies that the designer consciously includes these
country-specific factors.  As a general rule, designers are not aware of
these country-specific things, unless they have extensive experience
with designing things for different cultures.

Regardless, for some things, country / national root can be avoided, but
for other things, they are pretty much mandated, by either legal, or
cultural requirements.

jonathon


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