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Diseño sin Fronteras Ideological pleasures are related to users’ values andinclude products that incorporate social, environmentaland sustainability concerns.Jordan emphasizes the influence of users’ cultural orientationon their responses and perception of a product andhighlights (Jordan, 2000, 79):Pleasure-based approaches are about really understanding peopleand respecting and celebrating human diversity. They are aboutunderstanding the benefits that people want from a product andunderstanding what is required in order to deliver these benefits.Above all, pleasure-based approaches are about designing productsthat can bring a real joy into people’s lives.In this sense, we can conclude that design needs to redefineits frontiers and explores new concepts and instrumentsthat contribute to designing for human diversity.Cross-cultural conceptsAs Richard Lewis says, we see the world and the othersthrough “cultural lens” (2003, 91). It is these lenses thatmake other people looks different or similar, since theyadjust our eyes according to our own identity system andsocial rules. Lewis (2006, 21) illustrates that:Finns consider Italians overly emotional because they wave theirarms while talking. The individualistic Spaniards consider the Swissstuffy and excessively law-abiding. Lively Italians find Norwegiansgloomy. French-influenced Vietnamese find Japanese impassive.Most South Americans find Argentineans conceited. Germansthink Australians are undisciplined. Japanese see straight-talkingAmericans as rude.This concept of “cultural lens” is shared by Edward T. Hall(1998, p.87). He explains that the culture is responsiblefor defining what a person ignores and what will call thisperson´s attention. Culture determines how the worldis perceived and, according to Hall, “most of culture lieshidden and is out- side voluntary control making up thewarp and weff of human existence.” (2005, p.223).Para Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede (Hofstede &Hofstede 2005, 4), culture is a collective programming ofthe mind which distinguishes the members of one groupfrom another.The authors illustrate the mental programs in three levels(figure 1): human nature, personality and culture.The human nature level is related to the genetic programmingof the individual and determines one’s physical andbasic psychological functioning. The personality is relatedto the individual unique personal set of mental programsand is based ontraits partly inherited through the individualgenes and partly learned. Culture operates in anintermediate level and usually is passed from generation togeneration. It is not inherited but learned and derived fromthe social environment (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005, p.4-5).Specific of anindividualSpecific of agroupUniversalPersonalityCultureHuman NatureInherited andlearnedLearnedInheritedFigure 1: Three unity levels (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005, p.4).Another important concept even for our survival is the oneof “intercultural competence” or our capacity of learning,adapting and adjusting ourselves to the communicationstyle of a given context (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005;Neuliep, 2006).According to Lustig & Koester, authors of the book entitled‘Intercultural Competence’, the quality of life – onprofessional and personal levels, will depend, more andmore, on our ability to communicate efficiently with othercultures. Intercultural communication is important becausedemographic, economic and technological factors, whencombined, will have influence on the world where humaninteractions are dominated by culture and by culturaldifferences, besides the human ability to comprehend andinteract with distinct cultural frames (Lustig & Koester, 2010,p.11).It is worthy to ask, then, how can the impacts of culturaldifferences could be diminished? How would it be possibleto reach a balance so people are able to communicateefficiently and are intercultural competent?According to Janet Bennett (2009), some cultural distanceswill be rapidly adjusted, while others will demand somekind of negotiation. Adapting to a culture represents anadding process where our own culture is maintained intactand we add new abilities to our set of behaviors (2009,p.127). The adaptation and the intercultural competenceoccur from the one´s motivation and desire to obtain a sharedmeaning, for instance, doing business, teaching abroad,having relationships or being successful in any situationthat involves a culture different from your culture of origin.Intercultural competence requires, thus, that individuals areopen to distinct behavior, ideas and values. This opennessto different things is crucial to make cultures interact andcoexist, enriching human relations.As introduced in the first lines of this paper, we areconstantly in contact with other cultures. The daily life is25