What is a persona?
Learn what personas are as well as their importance and how we use them in our work.
What are they?
They are archetypal representations of the bulk of our audiences.
They provide a stronger basis for decision-making by:
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Helping build empathy for our users
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Being memorable
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Being based on user research
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Evolving with time
How to use them
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As a stimulus: reviewing a persona’s needs and goals can help to inspire ideas for new development and communications.
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As guides: the detail in a persona can provide boundaries for design work and creative thinking.
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As test criteria: holding up all work produced (creative, writing, comms etc) to personas helps to assess the potential success of that work before delivery to end users.
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As a lens for experience maps: this helps us to visualise what our audiences thoughts, actions and feelings are from the moment they engage with us until they finish (eg making a donation).