Caption voice for bilingual Thai–English donor packs
Word-for-word translation of chart captions often fails both languages. English may lean on abstract nouns; Thai captions for the same donor reporting page often need a clearer actor and verb.
Our studio drafts captions in the language of the primary audience first, then rewrites the second language from meaning, not from the first sentence’s grammar. A coverage chart might read “Households reached with treated nets” in English and name the province and season more explicitly in Thai.
What we avoid
We avoid stuffing both languages into a single cramped label. Dual captions sit stacked with generous leading, or on facing pages when print allows. Crowding reads as haste — and haste is the opposite of stewardship.
If your designer only receives English finals, budget an extra review day. Bilingual nonprofit impact dashboards fail most often in the last millimeter of type size, not in the data.