Personas

DEFINITION

Personas are fictional characters designers use to reflect user types, pinpointing who they are and what they do with products in relevant contexts. Designers create personas from user data, to understand user characteristics, needs, goals, etc. and gain valuable insightsintouserjourneys,andlater,testprototypes. Personasshouldfeatureearlyinthedesignprocess. thequalitiesofanddifferencesbetweenusers. theusers. perproject,butfocus especially onone. including: attitudes, desires, limitations, goals and behavior patterns. anything to make him/her more real and relevant andhelpbuildempathy.Awrittenstoryisbetterthan bulletpoints. persona to use your product – put him/her in contextswith problems toovercome.

WHY

Personas are createdduringthe analysis phase whendata has been gathered. However, they can also be created

HOW TO

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6. Collectextensivedataontargetusers. Developahypothesisfromtheresearch,determining Ensure stakeholders agree on the hypothesis about Determine a number of personas – more than one Name and describe each persona in 1-2 pages, Apicture. User’s values, interests, education, lifestyle, needs, Extra details about the persona (e.g., interests) –Describe several situations/scenarios prompting the duringthewholedesignprocessaswell.

WHEN

Personas are distilled essences of real users. With personas, we build empathy with target users, focus on their world, share insights/knowledge with other stakeholders to gain consensuses, make defensible decisions reflecting the persona's/user group’s exact needs, and gauge our designs’ effectiveness through their eyes. Crucially, we create personas from observations about real users, not faceless masses – mapping users’ needs toa design’s functionality demands clearly defining needsandusers,weshapepersonasiteratively.

REFERENCE: “Personas.” –interaction-design.org/literature/topics/personas

DONOR PERSONA

PHILANTHROPIC PUNNU

DEMOGRAPHICS

Age: 27 Location: Harlem, NY Job: Operations Director Family: Lives with his boyfriend

ABOUT

• Works full-time and attends night school for an MBA three days of the week. • Overextends himself causing unnecessary stress. • Has a high disposable income. • Loves his home country and heritage. Visits Nigeria 2x a month. • Eats African food 2-3x a week.

FRUSTRATIONS

Knows about the poverty in Africa. Knows the lack of educational and professional development in Africa. Knows how much underdeveloped talent is currently in Africa. Wants to help but doesn’t know how.

HABITS

Uses WhatsApp to keep in touchwith his family. Reads Punch Newspaper online to keep up to date on Nigeria’s political and social climate. Buys online at jumia.com.ngto support Nigeria and get local products he can’t get in the states. Plays soccer with his fellow African friends on the weekend.

GOALS

Earn his MBA. Ease & convenience of donation. Transparency of how his donation will directly assist his fellow Nigerians.

PERSONALITY

Concerned Observant Organized Skeptical Self-reliant Hard-working Kind

BENEFICIARY PERSONA

OPEYEMI - LYTA

DEMOGRAPHICS DEMOGRAPHICS

Age: 27Age: 17 Location: Harlem, NYLocation: Abuja,Nigeria Job: Operations DirectorJob: Student/Musician Family: Lives with his boyfriend

ABOUT ABOUT

• • Works full-time and attends night school for an MBA three days of the week. Works full-time and attends school. • • Overextends himself causing unnecessary stress. Has littletimeoutside of work and school to concentrate on his love of music. • • Has a high disposable income. Tryingtofocusonafuturehecanenjoy. • Loves his home country and heritage. Visits Nigeria 2x a month. • Eats African food 2-3x a week.

FRUSTRATIONS FRUSTRATIONS

Knows about the poverty in Africa. Finding the time to practice. Knows the lack of educational and professional development in Africa. Finding therightmentors. Knows how much underdeveloped talent is currently in Africa. Finding a scholarship for programs he googles. Wants to help but doesn’t know how. NotseeingEVERYopportunity. Not knowing every opportunity. Thought ofgivingupwithlackofdirection, mentorship and sponsorship/scholarship.

HABITS HABITS

Uses WhatsApp to keep in touchwith his family.Writes music in notebook during class. Reads Punch Newspaper online to keep up to date on Nigeria’s Hangs outwith other people he looks up to. political and social climate. Spends everycenthehasonhisfamilyinsteadofhimself. Buys online at jumia.com.ngto support Nigeria and get local Sings about the troubles he experiences growing up in Nigeria. products he can’t get in the states. Plays soccer with his fellow African friends on the weekend.

GOALS GOALS

Earn his MBA. Creating obtainable goals. Ease & convenience of donation. Less stressedaboutmoneyand Transparency of how his donation schoolandhavemoreself will directly assist his fellow confidence. Nigerians. Clear instructions from mentors on how, when and where.

PERSONALITY PERSONALITY

Concerned Concerned Observant Observant Organized Organized Skeptical Skeptical Self-reliantSelf-reliant Hard-workingHard-working Kind Kind Driven Outspoken Extrovert