1. Stays in context – What specific points about his/her situation can you map to how he/she can use your product now?
2. Reflects a target user’s real behavior patterns, attitudes, skillset, motivations and goals within the product’s domain.
3. Has an end-goal – What does the user want to achieve? What features would help him/her do that best?
4. Faces realistic, relevant scenarios—written from the persona’s perspective—to envision how users would find they’d use the product to attain a particular goal.
5. Occupies a clear setting – a day-in-the-life approach that shows what he/she encounters in what environment.
6. Has visible pain points – What’s the hardest/most frustrating aspect of his/her situation/context?
7. 

Personas in Design Projects

According to Carl Jung, the persona serves as a compromise between an individual's authentic self and the expectations imposed by society. This psychological mask allows a person to navigate social interactions by presenting an acceptable version of themselves, which may involve concealing personal characteristics that conflict with social norms.

Purpose of the Persona

Based on the provided scenario, analyze the individual's behavior. Identify the psychological 'mask' they are wearing and explain the two conflicting forces that this mask is attempting to reconcile.

Analyzing Social Behavior

In Jungian psychology, the persona is a mask that individuals consciously adopt to navigate different social situations. It is derived from a combination of a person's conscious experiences and their collective unconscious. The persona serves as a compromise between an individual's true self and society's expectations, functioning as a facade to hide aspects of the personality that do not align with societal norms.

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1. Define your target users with personas – to envision users’ likely experiences and gain empathic insights. Personas are based on user research but tell a story about your insights. An example persona might be “Rick”, a 47-year-old manager struggling with his work–family-life balance. He even works on his train commutes. Feeling drained, he wants better control of his life.
2. Create a plot, with conflict – to make the personas heroes and envision how they can overcome specific problems using your design. Make this a mapped-out journey or storyboard with each persona’s aim/s clearly defined. E.g.:
a. Rick discovers your (yet-to-be-designed) time-management app online. He downloads it and completes your questionnaire about work commitments, family, outgoings, etc.
b. He starts using your app, letting it collect data from his phone and fitness tracker about time on various tasks/activities, stress levels, alertness, etc.
c. After a week, your app charts his tasks and activities, including sleep, heart-rate data, etc.
d. Tapping a phone tab, Rick sees time-management suggestions on how to become more productive, well-rested, etc.
e. He has the option to continue or suspend monitoring (e.g., if on holiday/vacation).
3. Give your design the supporting role – show it improving your persona’s/user’s life and how easy it is to use. For example, consider how many steps Rick needs to use your app and if voice-controlled devices at home might influence its suggestions.
4. Work with the setting – When and where users use your design is vital for building empathy. For Rick, it’s the home, train and workplace. But what about (e.g.) busy professionals working from home?
5. Tailor the look/feel – Your design’s appearance is vital regardless of its functional benefits, so design the most appropriate (e.g.) layout, colors, typography. For example, Rick prioritizes an at-a-glance, easy-to-use design, but soothing colors would complement larger fonts, etc.

Reach Users through Stories

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

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