Website transcreation for an Italian interior design
Project: English website launch copy for an Italian interior designer and creative
Like many solopreneurs, my client, an Italian interior designer and creative, had built up a solid business through word of mouth. But she wanted to refine her offering. She hoped a bilingual website would clarify her extensive offering and attract the types of projects she wanted more of – international brand collaborations. I worked on the English copy, collaborating with an Italian copywriter and a web developer.
Why a literal translation wouldn’t work for this bilingual website
Many small Italian service providers rely on AI- or literally translated websites, which can be quick and cost-effective. There were a number of reasons why an AI-generated or literal translation would not have reached the desired goal of attracting more customers. Firstly, her English-speaking clients came from a range of markets, attracted by her quintessentially Italian artistic flair. Secondly, the website needed to reflect SEO research carried out for a global, English-speaking audience, rather than simply reflecting what Italian users search for. In fact, a poorly translated website can be more harmful to SEO than one with no translation. Thirdly, we wanted to use the brand voice to bring out our client’s understated elegance.
Light repositioning for English-speaking markets
Since my client’s English-speaking customers chose her for different reasons to her Italian ones, we needed to lightly reposition her identity. Her quintessentially Italian aesthetic and artisanship was a key consideration factor for foreign clients, whether these were private clients renovating in Italy or architects and developers developing luxury apartments. This was reflected in the brand voice, for which I took inspiration from an elegant luxury interiors magazine with an international readership to prevent excluding non-native speakers with too high a register.
My client worked with clients across the Middle East, the USA and European countries where English wasn’t the first language. Since the Middle East was a key market, I consulted with an in-market expert to and decided that British English was appropriate. If US English had been more suitable, then I would have collaborated with a native American English reviser.
Why transcreation is a better bet for your website
Italian copy, by its very nature, favours a richer, more expansive style than English marketing copy. This often means that direct translations feel convoluted or unnecessarily elaborate to English speakers. Add in the fact that we were writing for non-native speakers, and a direct translation would have proved less effective. For this reason, transcreation, which adapts the Italian copy to meet the brief of attracting English-speaking customers, was the service that fit.
Similarly, in a direct translation, cultural references which would be clear to Italian speakers would have been lost. To ensure the changes and choices I made were clear, I provided commentary and a back-translation where the copy deviated significantly from the Italian.
Although the website is still to launch, my client now has a beautiful, culturally appropriate bilingual website that presents her offering to both the Italian and English-speaking markets.