UX Personas: understanding your users to design better

Have you ever heard of UX Personas? If you are designing a product or service and you want the people who will use it to really like it, you cannot ignore them. UX Personas are like ‘imaginary portraits’ of your ideal users, built on real data collected during research. Basically, they help you see your project from the users’ point of view.

If you are asking yourself ‘Do I really need them?’, the answer is yes! Here’s why:

#1 Get to know your users better: personas help you get inside the users’ heads (and hearts!), so you can create something that really meets their needs.
#2 Make smarter choices: every decision – from design to functionality – becomes easier if you have a clear guide. Personas are that reference point.
#3 Speak the same language as your team: using personas, everyone – designers, developers, marketing – works with a common goal: users.

There are two main types of personas:

1. User Personas: These are based on real data, collected from research, interviews and surveys. Perfect for projects where you want to get to know your audience in depth.
2. Proto-Personas: These are a ‘lighter’ version. They are based on hypotheses and are created quickly, ideal if you are just starting out and want to have a first point of reference.

Another important distinction is that between UX Personas and Marketing Personas, which, although they have similar names, should not be confused. UX Personas arise from direct research with users and serve to guide design and improve the user experience. Marketing Personas, on the other hand, are based on more general data, such as market analysis and surveys, and are designed to help you create more effective communication and sales strategies. In short, you use the former to design useful and intuitive products, the latter to understand how to promote them in the right way.

Now that you know what they are, let’s see how to create one!

#1 Collect data
Talk to your users. Interview them, take surveys, observe them while they use your product. The more information you collect, the better.

#2 Find patterns
Once you have the data, look for similarities. Maybe you find that a group of users share the same goals or face the same difficulties.

#3 Draw your “character”
Now comes the fun part! Give your persona a name (like ‘Giulia, the multitasking student’), add age, job, goals and some details about her daily life.

#4 Share with the team
Don’t keep everything to yourself! Show your personas to the team and use them as a guide during the project. It will be much easier to make decisions that work.

Creating UX Personas takes a bit of effort, but it is worth it. They help you really understand who your users are and design something they will love to use. Isn’t that the real goal of any designer?