Keeping a designing for localization mindset to the fore from day 1 will ease the translation and localization process. Designing solely for PDF may lead to localization issues downstream.

This is also true when it comes to one2edit™, which allows non-designers to directly edit InDesign-document content in a controlled manner. A smooth translation process using one2edit requires that documents are also well designed on the inside, not just the outside.

A fundamental feature of translation is that different languages take up different amounts of space. Therefore, when creating a master document for translation and localization, you should ensure that there is sufficient space for the target languages to grow (with larger or auto-sizing text frames).

Styles may also be created to display and fit different text lengths and character sets. This can help a greater (or sometimes lesser) amount of text to fit into the original design, and for the correct character sets to be displayed, all while still adhering to the brand guidelines.

For example, French text typically needs up to 30% more space than that same text in English. Therefore, there either needs to be room for the text to grow by 30% within the current design, or styles should be created that will compress 30% more text into the current area.

Moreover, given that the text will change, anchoring objects to specific points in the text flow may be required, ensuring that the location of content remains consistent after translation.

This document is not exhaustive, but does cover some of the main considerations when creating documents for a localization/translation use-case.