Design personas that unlock insights

Any new solution or product only creates value if users adopt it.? Design thinking places those users at the center of the entire product innovation process because innovators with deeper understanding of the users they serve develop better solutions.? Probably the most important and useful tool used in understanding the user is the design persona.? Follow these best practices when developing your design personas.

?

1.??Your design-persona should be a (one) person.? Give your persona a name, a headshot, and other life context.? A design persona is not a description of a group of people, it’s an imaginary person that embodies and represents the beliefs, behaviors, goals and activities of your user target.?

2. Conduct 1:1 interviews with users to gather your background and insights into the physical, emotional and social needs and practices of your user.? Use these 1:1 interview best practices.?

3.?Synthesize your interview material into a 1-page persona.? This persona summary becomes your reference for key activities in your product development process including brainstorming, design principles definition and solution vetting.?? ?Whilst each persona is tailored to the product context it will typically have sections for context, goals, pain-points, routines, behaviors and desires.?

4.?Be factual, don’t embellish.? Everything you articulate should be directly gathered from interviews of your design target (the users).? Don’t speculate or infer any persona details, that will introduce bias.??

5. A good persona stimulates your emotions and creativity.? You should feel this person’s pains, desires and goals.? You should clearly understand their context, conflicts and barriers.? ?A great persona, combined with a well-researched fact-base forms the basis of powerful ideation sessions.??