Contact us

About Rubric

The Rubric Story

There’s a reason that some clients have stayed with us for decades…

1980s
The separation of translation and technology
françoise
Ian

It was the early 1980s and a young, idealistic French linguist was working as a freelance translator. Françoise Spurling (Rubric’s CEO and co-founder) was fascinated by translation and loved languages. But, she was dissatisfied with the wasteful way that translation was usually approached in global companies.

Experience had taught her that translators working in isolation had limited power. She could see that content and technology were just as important as linguistic skills… but her expertise didn’t lie with technology.

Meanwhile, a young Scottish Danish software engineer was indulging in his twin passions of travel and technology. Ian Henderson (Rubric’s CTO and co-founder) was working with global tech giant Siemens in Germany and tech start-ups in Nigeria, Cameroon, Oman, and England. 

divider
1990s
A meeting of minds

By the 1990s, both Françoise and Ian found themselves working for a well-meaning but disorganized translation agency in London. The company took on too much work and its project management was a mess, which made it almost impossible to deliver quality content or make its clients’ lives better.

Both Françoise and Ian were exasperated by the wasted time and effort that they saw all around them. They felt powerless to address their frequent concerns about quality and efficiency.

One day, after yet another dissatisfied client shouted at her, Françoise decided she’d had enough.

She would no longer contribute to the rampant inefficiency in the translation industry.

She would change it.

Ian, sharing Françoise’s high standards and ethical approach, decided to follow her out the door.

1994

Rubric is born

It was 1994 when Françoise and Ian founded Rubric. By then, they were intent on transforming the process of localization.

Their complementary skills were exactly what they needed to make it happen.

Françoise’s passion for languages and drive to empower people ensured they always put customers’ and employees’ needs before profits. Ian’s technological mind and love of process optimization ensured that Rubric’s operations were always in a process of continual improvement.

Their shared hatred of waste ensured that translations were always done with unrivaled efficiency and quality.

In the ’90s, the available technology for localization was still in its infancy. But, they could see that technological innovation was going to be key to making the changes they knew were possible. They decided that Rubric would never own a fax machine or a photocopier and everything would be stored digitally, which was unheard of at the time.    

Just 3 years later, they recognized that an international presence was just as important for them as it was for their clients and opened their US office.

Today
Over 25 years of innovation

In 2019, we celebrated Rubric’s 25th anniversary.

For many global companies, the inefficiencies in the translation industry are still as pervasive as they were in the 1980s. With rising international growth, growing competition, and a plethora of new technologies, the challenges associated with creating quality global content are as present as ever.

But, for Rubric’s clients, localization can become almost effortless. Thanks to Françoise and Ian’s early drive to improve the localization process, clients benefit from the lessons we’ve learned over many years of excellence and innovation.

There’s a reason that some clients have stayed with us for decades. Just as Françoise and Ian have continually improved Rubric’s processes, we continue to improve our clients’ localization processes year on year. 

Innovation is now part of Rubric’s DNA and the whole team continuously seeks to evolve, identifying the latest techniques and technologies while working smartly and ethically.

By continually cutting out waste and streamlining processes, we work in close partnership with our clients. Rubric’s unique makeup allows us to deliver multilingual translations and content strategies of the highest quality, through deep integration with our clients’ businesses.

divider
The future

At Rubric, we are dedicated to bringing our clients global success for many years to come.

Just as we stress the importance of a long-term global strategy to our clients, we also have a strategy to ensure that we continue to serve our clients long into the future.

We commit to staying at the forefront of technological innovation, helping our clients to navigate those changes with their global content.

An enduring love of words and technology drives growth for our clients across cultures and continents every day of the year.

Tell us about you

If you want to get to know us better, the best way is to sign up for our regular newsletter below. We send regular tips, tricks, and lessons on how you can improve your localization process.
But, we'd love to hear more about you and your localization needs! If you have a particular project you'd like to discuss or are unsure what you need from localization, just fill out your details in our contact form.
Tell us about your project

Improve your own localization with our expert resources

At Rubric, we have always been at the cutting edge of translation and localization. Here are some of our expert resources designed to keep you up to date with the latest in localization techniques, tools, and trends. Or sign up to receive free email updates straight to your inbox.
Decades of savvy scaling with Toshiba
lancer
Lancer Corp Enlists Rubric’s Help to Ensure Their Global Content is On par with Their Superior Products
amway-center
Localized multimedia training collateral to successfully upskill Amway staff around the globe
How Rubric helped SAP ship a software product in 40 languages simultaneously
© 2021 Rubric | All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy