Culture centered design

As the world comes together, culture becomes an issue We have been designing for each other for many centuries. Originally, we knew our clients of design, who were members of our tribe, or living in the same village. At different locations on the globe, people designed for the same functionality, sometimes in parallel without being aware. In communities far remote from each other different (often unique) ways of written communication were designed and different countries claim the invention of a variation of the printing press or gunpowder. If we look at the design of clothing, we easily discover cultural differences related to taste as well as to context of use. The globe is rapidly shrinking. Most new designs will be quickly discovered by strangers that live in far away locations. In fact, recent design efforts often aim at world wide adoption. But reaching new potential users does not mean it fits them all, like it did fit those that lived in the designers own village.