Designing for Indic audiences without making it a cliché

A common brief: "make it feel Indian." A common mistake: reach for the obvious visual shortcuts — paisley, mandalas, a saffron-green-white palette — and call it done.

Start with the reader

What do they read first? In which script? On which device? An Odia reader on a 2GB mid-range phone has very different needs from a NRI on a desktop in San Jose.

Type first

Half the localization work is typography. Pick a script-aware variable font, set a sensible line-height for Devanagari or Odia, and test the rendering on the actual devices your audience uses.

Restrain the motifs

One small, well-drawn cultural detail beats a busy collage. We usually pick one — a corner ornament, a divider, a button shape — and let the rest of the design breathe.

A site can feel rooted without looking like a tourism brochure.