Background
Our partner, an international health policy organisation, is committed to shaping the healthcare environment by informing and engaging decision-makers. For this project – one of several successful collaborations – the organisation entrusted us with the multilingual adaptation of a digital publication aimed at researchers and healthcare professionals involved in planning and implementing lung cancer screening programmes.
We were responsible for the translation and multilingual typesetting of the publication from English into four target languages: Spanish, French, Arabic and Chinese.
The challenge
The project presented a number of linguistic and technical challenges:
· A multilingual project delivered in two phases, requiring eight professional translators across four target languages.
· All translators had to be subject-matter experts with experience in healthcare translation to ensure accurate terminology and a professional tone.
· Multilingual typesetting involved non-Latin scripts such as Arabic and Chinese. Significant differences in text length across languages required creative design adaptation while preserving layout integrity.
· Right-to-left layout for Arabic: visual balance and selection of appropriate fonts were critical for readability and consistency.
· Diverse file formats: we worked with a source InDesign package and PDF, delivering print-ready PDFs.
· High volume: over 100,000 words translated and typeset across four languages.
· Zero tolerance for error: given the health-related nature of the content, absolute accuracy was non-negotiable.
· Consistency across languages: visual and linguistic coherence was essential to maintain the publication’s credibility and tone across all language versions.
Our approach
Given the high word count and four target languages, we ensured from the outset that professional, specialised healthcare translators would be available to execute the project.
They began by reviewing all reference materials to ensure alignment with the client’s tone, terminology and design standards.
The process was organised into multiple collaborative phases:
1. Translation phase
o Translations were carried out by specialised translators – native speakers with in-depth expertise in healthcare and life sciences.
o Translators worked collaboratively, proactively consulting each other to resolve terminology issues and ensure consistency.
o Feedback from the client was incorporated before progressing to the typesetting stage.
2. Typesetting phase
o Layouts were carefully adapted for each target language, preserving the design structure and visual clarity of the original publication.
o Special care was taken with scripts such as Arabic and Chinese to maintain readability, cultural appropriateness and alignment.
o A second round of client feedback ensured approval of the final layout and language before delivery.
The outcome
The result was a professionally translated and visually coherent multilingual healthcare publication, fully aligned with both linguistic and design standards in all four languages.
The materials are now live on the client’s website, providing healthcare professionals worldwide with clear, accessible information.
The project was delivered on time and to a high standard, thanks to strong collaboration within our team and with the client.
The client clearly expressed their satisfaction in their feedback:
“We appreciate Eurideas’ work and communication over the last few months completing the translations and layouts for the ‘learning from implementation’ publication.”
