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UI/UX Design for Bilingual UAE Products

Interfaces designed in Arabic and English from the first wireframe, with design systems that mirror correctly and research with both audiences.

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UI/UX Design for the United Arab Emirates

UI/UX Design, built around how the United Arab Emirates works

In the UAE, a design that looks right in English and broken in Arabic is a common and expensive problem. It usually happens when Arabic is treated as a translation task after the visual design is signed off. Our UI/UX design process creates Arabic and English frames side by side, so layout, typography and content length are solved for both languages before any code is written.

Nexzem's design team works from Dehradun, India, 1.5 hours ahead of the UAE, so workshops and design reviews happen live in your morning. Deliverables are Figma files with components, variables and mirrored variants that developers can implement directly, plus a design system your own team can extend.

Arabic typography and bilingual layouts

Arabic text needs fonts designed for it, such as Dubai Font, IBM Plex Sans Arabic or Noto Sans Arabic, paired with a Latin font of similar weight and rhythm. Arabic generally needs a slightly larger size and more line height to stay readable, and Arabic copy can be noticeably shorter or longer than its English equivalent, so components are designed to flex rather than fit one language exactly.

We use Figma auto layout with start and end alignment, so frames can be flipped to right-to-left and checked quickly, and we review every key screen in both languages with real copy rather than placeholder text.

What should mirror, and what should not

Mirroring rules are where many RTL designs go wrong. These are the conventions we document in the design system:

  • Mirror: navigation order, back and forward arrows, progress indicators, sliders and list chevrons
  • Mirror: form layouts, with labels and icons on the right in Arabic
  • Do not mirror: media play and pause controls, clocks and timers
  • Do not mirror: logos, phone numbers, card numbers and icons that represent physical objects
  • Handle with care: checkmarks, question mark icons and illustrations containing text

Research and accessibility with UAE users

The UAE audience is unusually varied: Emirati users, Arabic-speaking residents from across the region and a large English-speaking expatriate population. We run remote user research with participants from the groups that matter for your product and in their preferred language.

Accessibility for People of Determination is part of the design brief, not an afterthought. We design to WCAG 2.2 AA contrast, focus and target sizes and test with VoiceOver and TalkBack in both Arabic and English, since right-to-left content creates its own focus and reading order issues.

What our UI/UX design covers

User research, interface design and design systems for web and mobile products people find easy to use.

  1. 01

    UX Strategy and Flows

    User journeys, task flows and information architecture that define how people move through your product before visual design begins.

  2. 02

    Wireframing

    Low-fidelity layouts that settle structure, content priority and navigation quickly, so feedback focuses on function rather than colours.

  3. 03

    Mobile App UI Design

    iOS and Android interfaces that respect platform conventions, thumb reach and small screens while staying true to your brand.

  4. 04

    Web and SaaS UI Design

    Dashboards, data tables, forms and settings screens designed for clarity, including the empty, loading and error states most designs forget.

  5. 05

    Design Systems

    Reusable Figma components, tokens and usage guidelines that keep design consistent and speed up both designers and developers.

  6. 06

    UX Audit

    A heuristic review of an existing product that highlights usability issues with annotated screenshots and a prioritised list of fixes.

  7. 07

    Accessible Design

    Contrast, focus states, touch targets and readable type designed to WCAG guidelines from the very first wireframe onwards.

  8. 08

    Developer Handoff

    Annotated Figma files, specs, assets and design reviews during development, so the built product matches the approved design.

How a project runs

Clear stages with a review at the end of each, so you always know what happens next and what it costs.

  1. 01

    Discover

    Stakeholder and user interviews, analytics review and a competitor scan.

  2. 02

    Define

    Personas, journeys, information architecture and key flows.

  3. 03

    Design

    Wireframes, then high-fidelity UI and interactive prototypes in Figma.

  4. 04

    Validate

    Usability tests on key flows, followed by design revisions.

  5. 05

    Handoff and Support

    Design system, specs and ongoing reviews during development.

The stack behind it

Proven, well-supported tools chosen for your scale, budget and team, never for novelty.

  • Figma
  • HTML5
  • Tailwind CSS
  • React
  • Jira

More services in the United Arab Emirates

UI/UX Design in other markets

Anywhere else

We deliver UI/UX design for clients worldwide. This page covers what changes in the United Arab Emirates; the team, process and contracts are the same wherever you are based.

UI/UX Design overviewWhere else we work

UI/UX Design in UAE, answered

Something else on your mind? Ask a consultant and get a reply within one business day.

Can you redesign our existing English app for Arabic users?

Yes. We audit every screen for right-to-left issues, fix components so they mirror correctly, choose Arabic typography and produce Arabic frames for each flow. Where the existing code hardcodes left and right positioning, we give developers a prioritized list of components to refactor first.

Which Arabic fonts work best for apps and websites?

Choose a font with a full Arabic character set, good hinting at small sizes and a matching Latin companion. Dubai Font, IBM Plex Sans Arabic, Noto Sans Arabic and Tajawal are popular choices. We test candidates with your real content on actual devices before committing, since rendering varies between iOS, Android and browsers.

Do you design for UAE government accessibility expectations?

We design to WCAG 2.2 AA as a baseline, which is what federal entities and the UAE government design system follow, and test with screen readers in Arabic and English. For specific government projects we review the entity's own design and accessibility guidelines at the start and build them into the design system.

Planning UI/UX design for the United Arab Emirates?

Share your scope and market. A consultant replies within one business day with next steps, a rough estimate and a suggested team.

Book a free consultation+91-7302622997