Title:
Personas in the Design Process: A tool for understanding others

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dc.contributor.advisor Chung, Wayne
dc.contributor.author Williams, Karen Lindsay en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Ringholz, David
dc.contributor.committeeMember Vollmer, Florian
dc.contributor.department Industrial Design en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2006-09-01T19:40:30Z
dc.date.available 2006-09-01T19:40:30Z
dc.date.issued 2006-07-11 en_US
dc.description.abstract Personas, fictional user profiles based on research data, have gained popularity in the design field over recent years. These profiles include names, personalities, behaviors, and goals that are representative of a unique group of individuals. This paper examines the creation and utilization of personas as a tool for understanding others, specifically within the context of product design. A review of current literature revealed published methods for creating and using personas, along with the challenges and benefits associated with this tool. Current design industry practices were investigated through 15 semi-structured interviews with design professionals. Topics included persona creation and implementation, the tools use, and perceived outcomes from the inclusion of personas in the design process. Participatory research examined persona creation methods including user data collection and the selection of topics to be included in these profiles. Additionally, persona utilization was investigated through the tools integration into a 12-week Industrial Design student project. Observations and interviews with 8 student groups and instructors revealed the tools impact on the design process and potential within the educational environment, with specific attention being paid to universal design applications. en_US
dc.description.degree M.S. en_US
dc.format.extent 3738635 bytes
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/11623
dc.language.iso en_US
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject User representation en_US
dc.subject User research
dc.subject Personas
dc.subject Industrial design
dc.subject Education
dc.subject Design research
dc.subject Universal design
dc.subject Disability
dc.subject Participatory research
dc.subject.lcsh New products en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Target marketing en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Design, Industrial en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Market segmentation en_US
dc.title Personas in the Design Process: A tool for understanding others en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Thesis
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.corporatename College of Design
local.contributor.corporatename School of Industrial Design
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication c997b6a0-7e87-4a6f-b6fc-932d776ba8d0
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication ba047493-307f-4cec-b428-7d2ac38da373
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