fluentlocal

Design localization · CJK (China · Japan · Korea)

Translated —
still foreign?

Your translator made the words correct — but the page still reads imported, and that quietly costs trust. I rebuild the design so it reads native. Not a word changed.

Design only — translation & native-text quality stay with you and your reviewers.

Just translated
Japanese — just translated, imported design
Localized
Japanese — localized to native conventions

Japanese, same content — only the design changed. See all markets in the demo →

The gap

Translation isn’t the problem. Design is.

Typography

CJK text inherited from your English font reads as “no one local touched this” — the type was never set for the script.

Density & layout

Western spacing rarely fits CJK markets — each has its own density and rhythm.

Trust signals

★ ratings, badges, QR, certifications — the shape of trust differs by market.

The work

The same page, rebuilt to feel native.

A before/after on a sample brand (SÉVA, illustrative) — English original, a naive translated fallback, and a market-localized design. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Open the before / after ▸

Live demo. Editable source is shared after we start a project.

Pricing

A fraction of a full redesign.

Flat per page — a long, multi-section page costs the same as a short one. Each market (Korean, Japanese, Chinese) gets its own localization, priced per page.

1 page

$149

One page rebuilt to read native: typography, layout, density, trust cues, flow. You provide the local-language copy.

3 pages · bundle

$399

Three pages of the same site — a better per-page rate.

5 pages · best rate

$599

Five pages of the same site — the best per-page rate.

Each extra page — or the same page in another market — is $149. Functional or interactive pages (checkout, multi-step forms, app-like UI) are a custom quote. A full redesign runs $300–1,500; this is a fraction of that. From 2 business days per page — exact quote after a quick look at your pages.

How it works

01

Audit

I read your current localized page and pinpoint where it still reads imported — typography, density, trust signals.

02

Localize the design

Typography, spacing, density, trust-signal layout rebuilt for local eyes. Your content and translation stay yours.

03

Build & hand off

Production-ready pages, delivered. Run it through escrow if you like — your call.

What you get: production-ready, localized pages — plus the editable source once we start a project. Your copy and translator stay yours.

Markets

Built for CJK — one craft, three markets.

CN

Chinese

Simplified & Traditional — distinct markets. Density, red/gold, WeChat/QR, ICP.

JP

Japanese

Gothic + Mincho mix, density, ★-rating trust bars.

KR

Korean

Toss/Naver-era minimalism, bold weight, mobile-first.

You keep your translator.
I localize the design.

This is design adaptation, not translation. Your copy and its native-language review stay with you and your local reviewers — I rebuild how the page looks and reads for the market. Two specialists, not a turf war.

FAQ

Do you translate my text?

No. I localize the design — layout, typography, density, trust signals. You (or your translator) provide the copy.

How is this different from a translator?

A translator makes the words correct. The page can still look imported. I fix how it is spaced, sized, and structured for local eyes.

Which markets?

CJK — China (Simplified & Traditional), Japan, and Korea: the East-Asian markets where web design genuinely differs from the West.

Who is responsible for the wording?

You. This service is design adaptation only — translation, native-text quality, and final local review are the client (and the client’s local reviewers).

Who you work with

Heonki Lee

A founder-led studio.

fluentlocal is a one-person studio. I’m Heonki Lee, a designer specializing in CJK (Korean, Japanese, Chinese) localization — you work directly with me, start to finish.

And I don’t just hand over a mockup — I rebuild the actual page in code, so you get the page itself, ready to ship and built to read native to its market.

I don’t claim to represent a whole market. I work from evidence — every result proven with a before/after you can check. Design only — translation and native-text review stay with you and your reviewers.

Start a project

Entering China, Japan, or Korea?

Send your live URL and the target market. I’ll reply with a quick read and a before/after direction.

founder@fluentlocal.com

New to working together? Start with a 30% deposit and run it through escrow (Upwork or Escrow.com) — you release the balance only for work you’ve approved.