baranwangSay hello

Make it speak every language

Mobile app screens showing a map and a social feed
Illustrative stock image

Baranwang is a London studio that makes apps, websites and interfaces with colour, character and care. We build them so people can understand them from Covent Garden to Kuala Lumpur.

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mobilewebui/ux

Bold isn’t the same as loud.

Colour and type only work if the product underneath is clear. We pair expressive surfaces with plain language, generous touch targets and accessible contrast, so personality never costs usability.

We also design for people who switch languages, scripts and currencies: right-to-left layouts, longer German labels, Chinese and Korean fonts and local date formats. Treating a product as international from the first sketch is cheaper than retrofitting it later.

Try it

Same screen, different language

Pick a language and see what changes on a simple checkout card: text length, reading direction, and how the date and price are written. The formats come from your own browser’s standard locale data.

    What we make, and what you get

    Mobile apps

    iOS and Android apps with personality and proper platform manners. Usually one shared codebase, tested with screen readers, large text and patchy signal.

    You get: source code in your repository, test builds, store-ready assets and a handover session.

    Websites

    Sites that feel like your brand but load fast. Editing is set up for the people who will actually update them, with languages planned from the start.

    You get: an accessible responsive site, an editing guide and a hosting note.

    UI/UX design

    Flows, wireframes, prototypes and a design system with a voice. We test early with real people, ideally in more than one language.

    You get: a prototype, a component library and copy guidelines.

    Launch help

    App Store and Google Play listings, privacy forms and localised screenshots, released gradually and in your own accounts.

    You get: listing copy, a release checklist and a rollback plan.

    Support

    Updates, fixes and someone who answers during UK working hours. We work on products we built and on ones we inherited.

    You get: a written scope and a monthly note.

    Five things we check before a product travels

    Room to grow

    Translated labels are often longer than the English. We size buttons, tabs and table headers so they can wrap without breaking the layout, and we test with deliberately long text before translations arrive.

    Mirroring

    Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Urdu read right to left. Navigation, progress bars and arrows mirror. Phone numbers, media controls and most logos don’t. We decide which is which component by component.

    Fonts that cover the script

    A beautiful Latin typeface may have no Cyrillic, Devanagari or Japanese characters at all. We pick type families, or pairings, that cover every script you need, so nothing falls back to an awkward default.

    Formats, not assumptions

    Dates, times, numbers, currencies, addresses and names all vary by place. We use the platform’s locale tools instead of hand-written formats, and we design forms that accept real names and addresses.

    Words that survive translation

    Short sentences, no idioms and one term for one thing. We hand translators a glossary and screenshots, so they understand where each phrase appears.

    Risograph-style collage of hands holding a phone surrounded by speech bubbles and sign shapes

    Generated illustration

    Good products feel local wherever they’re opened

    Words, icons and colours mean different things in different places. Before we commit to an icon or a colour code, we check what it might say to the people you are trying to reach.

    Brief mixer

    Build a one-line brief in three taps

    Pick one from each row. We’ll turn it into a starting sentence you can send us.

    We need
    For
    That feels

    Use this brief

    How a project goes

    1. Hello

      A free chat about what you want to change and who for. Bring sketches, screenshots or just a feeling.

    2. Discovery

      A short paid phase to agree audience, languages, scope and how success will be measured, with a written estimate.

    3. Make

      Design and build in frequent, visible rounds. You try real builds, not just slides.

    4. Launch and stay

      Release in your own accounts, then optional support so the product keeps up with new phones and browsers.

    Laptop and phone on a desk with code on screen
    Illustrative stock image, not a Baranwang project

    Toolkit picks

    The full toolkit

    Fair questions

    Do you translate content?

    We design and build for translation. Translation itself is best done by native speakers you trust or a specialist agency, and we can work with either.

    Will bold design hurt accessibility?

    It shouldn’t. We check colour contrast, text size and focus order on every component and fix problems before launch.

    Who owns the work?

    You do: code, designs, accounts and content.

    Can you work with our existing brand?

    Yes. We turn your brand guidelines into a working design system, and we flag any colours or type that fail accessibility checks so we can agree alternatives with you.

    Do you only work with international organisations?

    No. Plenty of products only serve one city. We simply make sure they would cope if that changed, and we keep everything accessible whoever the audience is.

    What happens after launch?

    You can take the product in-house using our handover notes, or keep us on for updates, fixes and new features under a written support agreement.

    Where are you?

    71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, WC2H 9JQ. Meetings are by appointment.