"Personas" are fictional representations of a typical customer used to inform strategic decision-making for businesses to tailor their products, services and messaging to a specific audience.
Unfortunately, fictional personas force us to adopt a generalized perception of a human being.
Your customers are not an idea of a person or a generic demographic. They’re complex and emotional individuals who want to live healthy, happy, and successful lives and achieve their goals.
Suppose you’re making up characteristics using your imagination. In that case, you’re more likely to lean into your own beliefs and self-design a customer based on your own biases, defeating a persona’s purpose. Personas are meant to help you step outside yourself and empathize with someone who experiences the world differently.
However, personas can help paint a picture and tell a story when presenting an idea to a client. At Human by Design, we prefer to use real people – either a celebrity your client will instantly know and understand or someone well-known with plenty of articles and information to learn about them.
Here are a few real samples from my presentation decks:
What do you think? Can creatives do without fake personas?
Steph D’Aurio is the Creative Strategist and Founder of Human by Design. At Human by Design, we craft brand identities, digital experiences, and campaigns that feel compassionate, honest, and human. Learn more at humanbydesign.agency
