At Gleef, we believe words matter – in every language. And that if you want to build a truly accessible global product, localization needs to be part of the conversation from the very first line. But what does that actually look like in practice? How do you write “localization-friendly” copy without killing your creativity? Where does the complexity really lie when you're designing a multilingual product? And what would a genuine collaboration between content designers and translators even look like?

To dig into these questions and build real expertise on the topic, we spoke with Marie-Anne Chaloupecky, a former UX writer at Booking.com for six years, now a freelance content designer, consultant, and coach for UX professionals – and a key advisor to us at Gleef. With over 10 years of experience building content teams, creating content systems, and mentoring writers, she shares her perspective on the craft, her frustrations, and what gives her hope for the future of localization.

Let’s start simple: what does localization mean to you?

“To me, localization isn’t just translation. It’s the bridge between product intent and a user’s culture. It’s making sure a word, an expression, or an idea lands in a completely different cultural context. As a content designer, that means writing to be understood – not just elsewhere in the flow, but elsewhere in the world.”

Do you remember the first time you really ran into a localization issue in a project?

“I think I’ve always had localization issues in mind because I’m a third culture kid, meaning my parents are each from different cultures and I was born and brought up in other cultures still. As a TCK you’re constantly adapting your language and behaviour to different cultures.Then I joined Booking.com and learnt what that looked like in a professional, digital context. And I felt right at home.”

How do you work with translation teams or localization tools during a project?

“I advocate for upstream collaboration. Translators are not vendors – they’re creative partners. Whenever I can, I give them context, screenshots, the reasoning behind each message. And I always push to see translated versions inside the mockups where possible. A perfectly translated word in the wrong length or the wrong visual context will break the design, and sometimes a ‘good’ translation simply won’t sit right in a visual context.”

Can you imagine a system where content designers write with localization in mind from the start?

“I don’t need to imagine it because I believe it should be one of the basic competencies for content designers and have always worked in this model. Writing for localization is like writing for accessibility: it needs to be part of how we see the work. It’s not a nice-to-have – it’s the baseline. And Gleef helps nudge organisations in that direction. AI can amplify this mindset if we give it the right instructions and use it in the right context. It can help surface potential friction points, flag culture-specific expressions, even make better suggestions for specific UI components – but only if we feed it the right signals: user intent, visual layout, tone of voice. That’s where the magic happens. AI won’t be replacing the content design craft, which still very much needs human talent, but it can be a great tool, and I believe it’s important that we guide the developments taking place.”

If you had to explain Gleef to another content designer, how would you describe it?

“I’d say Gleef is like a superpowered invisible assistant that saves you from endless back-and-forths with dev and localization teams. It lets you preview translations in your designs, manage keys painlessly, and most importantly – think through your content in all its versions from the start. It’s a great tool for Content Ops.”

What’s frustrating you right now when it comes to how we handle text and its translations?

“The workflow is still completely broken. Content gets written in one place, translated in another, and implemented somewhere else entirely – often with zero visibility across those stages and with huge cost in human time and energy. There’s no shared system, no single source of truth, and it’s rare to see proper QAs run on localised content. And the worst part? The absence of feedback loops: we send out copy to be translated, but we often never see what comes back – or we only discover it once it’s in production. It’s like designing a product blindfolded.”

What’s one piece of advice you’d give a content designer starting on a multilingual product?

“When starting fresh on a multilingual product, see it as a gift: you’ve got the chance to rethink the workflow from the ground up. Build relationships with translators or your localisation manager early. Question how things are done. And wherever you can, lean on technology to take care of the repetitive, low-value tasks – so you can focus on the parts that actually need your voice, your judgment, your craft. You’ll learn a lot about your own work just by listening to how others reinterpret it.”

If you had a magic wand to fix one thing about localization today, what would you use it for?

“I’d use it to make all the design, translation, and dev tools actually talk to each other. One single workflow – clear, seamless, with shared context and built-in feedback – where no one has to ask ‘where did this key come from?’ or ‘why did we make this decision again?’ No more silos. No more friction. Just creative collaboration.”

Conclusion

What stood out most in our conversation with Marie-Anne is that localization isn’t a step – it’s a mindset. A way of thinking about content as a living organism, something that has to travel, adapt, and stay true to its original intent, no matter the language or the market.

At Gleef, we want to support that shift by giving content designers and product teams the tools they need to collaborate more easily with localization – without sacrificing creativity or consistency.

A huge thank-you to Marie-Anne for her generosity, clarity, and for reminding the whole industry that product quality doesn’t stop at the original version.