Working intuitive, based on facts.
Introducing personas for design productions
Christof Zürn
creative director interactive
30-01-2009 2, 3, 4 DI M E NSI ON AL DESI G N 1

Three problems with information and
design
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1
Translating user data meaningfully
into design is difficult.
Design decisions are complicated
and are made over time.
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2
Those doing the research aren’t the
ones building the product:
• Executives, business strategists, project
managers, product managers, designers,
developers, marketing-, communications
consultants, technical writers, copywriters, etc.
• How do you communicate information about
the target customer to all of these people?
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3
When developing a rich product with
a large team, few people have the
same users in mind when making
decisions that affect the user
experience.
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What you get:
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What are personas?
•a vivid, story based, trusted description with
pictures
• exemplarily: goals, tasks, attitude, behaviour
• based on facts: observations, interviews with
‘real people’
... and they are never ‘ready’
begin with version 0.1
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The solution: personas
“Persona’s are not real people ... they are
hypothetical archetypes of actual users ... defined
with significant rigor and precision“
• Alan Cooper, the inmates are running the asylum
“It’s not about how you sell something,
it’s about how people buy!”
• Michel Miller, Persuasion architect – Futurenow
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From target group to persona
A website can have:
1 million visitors per month
20 market segments or target groups
5 persona’s
... you can also use it for products, marcom, etc
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Why use personas?
Important part of a briefing for different
agencies or departments
• shortvisual summary instead of long reports
• reusable for different projects (design, programming, SEM, etc.)
Decision making instrument to guide and direct
discussions, meetings and presentations
A ‘tool’ against ‘groupthink’ or taste
• or too corporate information
• Better product quality
• better match with the user
• higher conversion
It is used world wide by a growing number of
companies
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Example 1
primary
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Example 3
primary
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Example 3
primary
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Persona life-cycle
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