Map Persona with a Twist

Reimagine personas with a collaborative, creative approach that reveals deeper insights in one day.

Visualize Persona Power: Unlock deeper insights to design solutions that truly resonate.

You’ve probably heard of “personas.” They’re those fictional characters we create based on research to represent the people we serve or aim to serve. 

But here's the thing: we don’t just use personas to market to people; we use them to *empathize* with them. Think of personas as a way to bring your audience to life—flesh-and-blood people with hopes, dreams, and challenges. Our goal? To understand specific traits and design targeted solutions for a particular audience.

Now, imagine you’ve done your homework. You’ve gathered all your research, conducted interviews, and have a mountain of data. You’re ready to create a persona. But wait—there’s a twist!

The Twist: Creating Personas Archetypes Through Team Collaboration

Instead of diving straight into drafting personas, let’s involve the team in a more interactive, insightful way:

Step 1. Write It Down 

Ask your team to jot down key interview quotes, observations, interesting information, and surprising insights on sticky notes. Keep it simple: one idea per sticky note.

Step 2. Find the Themes 

Group similar sticky notes together. What patterns emerge? These groups are your themes and will help you understand what’s truly important to your audience.

Step 3. Identify Recurring Dimensions 

Ask your team to dig deeper. Are there recurring needs, desires, or behaviors that stand out across the data? These are psychographics (values, interests, or behaviors)—not just basic demographics. Identifying these can reveal what makes each group unique.

Step 4. Choose Revealing Dimensions 

Now, pick a couple of pairs that feel particularly insightful. For example, you might notice patterns around introversion/extroversion or spending habits (like frugal vs. free-spending).

Mapping Personas: The 2x2 Matrix

Here’s where it gets fun! 

Reimagine personas with a collaborative, creative approach that reveals deeper insights.

Step 1. Draw a 2x2 Matrix.

Take the pairs you’ve chosen and place one on each axis. For instance, if you’ve identified introversion/extroversion and spending habits, you’ll have:

• Vertical axis: Frugal to Free-Spending

• Horizontal axis: Introverted to Extroverted

Step 2. Map It Out 

With your matrix ready, ask the team to place each interviewee into the quadrant that best fits them. This will give you a visual representation of different persona types.

Step 3. Draft Archetype Personas

Look at each quadrant. What stands out? Start crafting archetype personas based on these clusters. For example, you might have:

•   The Frugal Introvert

•   The Free-Spending Extrovert

•   And so on...

Step 4. Select Your Target Persona 

Now that you have your archetypes, it’s time to decide who is the most attractive for designing a solution. Which persona aligns best with your project’s goals? Focus your efforts there.

Why I like it

Using this method, you’re not just creating static personas but inviting your team into a collaborative, dynamic process. This approach allows you to uncover deeper insights and build personas that genuinely reflect your audience's needs, behaviors, and aspirations. 

So, the next time you’re drafting personas, don’t just do it alone—get your team involved, play with the data, and discover new angles. What you can uncover is impressive when you see things with a twist!