Designing for Arabic first, not Arabic later
UXOctober 15, 20261 min read
Most bilingual products start in English and get mirrored at the end. The result works, but it rarely feels native.
Start from the reading direction
In an RTL layout the eye enters from the top right. Primary actions, progress indicators and back arrows all follow that flow, so they need to be planned, not flipped.
What I check on every screen
- Numbers and dates keep their own direction inside Arabic text
- Icons with a direction (arrows, play, send) are mirrored, logos are not
- Arabic type gets its own line height and size, usually one step larger
- Mixed strings like brand names are tested with real copy
A layout is only bilingual when both versions feel like the original.
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