Persona
A Persona is a made-up character that represents a typical user of a website or app. Web designers create these fictional profiles to better understand who they're designing for. Think of it like creating a detailed character description that includes things like age, job, habits, and what frustrates them when using websites. This helps teams make design decisions that will work well for their actual users. For example, instead of just designing a website that looks nice, designers can ask "Would Sarah, our 45-year-old busy mom persona, find this easy to use?" Similar terms used in job descriptions might be "user persona," "customer avatar," or "user profile."
Examples in Resumes
Created 5 detailed Personas to guide the redesign of an e-commerce website
Conducted user research to develop User Personas for a healthcare app
Led workshops to create Customer Personas that improved our design process
Typical job title: "UX Designers"
Also try searching for:
Where to Find UX Designers
Online Communities
Professional Networks
Learning Resources
Example Interview Questions
Senior Level Questions
Q: How do you validate that your personas accurately represent your target users?
Expected Answer: A senior designer should discuss methods like user interviews, surveys, analytics data, and market research to verify personas. They should also mention how they update personas based on new data and feedback.
Q: How have you used personas to influence major design decisions?
Expected Answer: They should provide specific examples of how personas helped shape design choices, influenced stakeholder decisions, and improved user satisfaction with the final product.
Mid Level Questions
Q: How do you create personas from user research?
Expected Answer: Should explain the process of gathering user data, identifying patterns, and creating realistic character profiles that represent different user groups.
Q: How do you use personas in your day-to-day design work?
Expected Answer: Should describe how they reference personas during design decisions, present them to stakeholders, and use them to solve design problems.
Junior Level Questions
Q: What are the key elements of a good persona?
Expected Answer: Should mention basic components like demographics, goals, pain points, behaviors, and preferences that make up a useful persona.
Q: Why are personas important in design work?
Expected Answer: Should explain how personas help create user-centered designs and keep the team focused on real user needs rather than assumptions.
Experience Level Indicators
Junior (0-2 years)
- Understanding basic persona creation
- Conducting simple user interviews
- Creating basic user profiles
- Using existing personas in design work
Mid (2-5 years)
- Creating detailed, research-based personas
- Leading user research sessions
- Using personas to guide design decisions
- Presenting personas to stakeholders
Senior (5+ years)
- Developing complex persona systems
- Managing large-scale user research
- Training teams on persona usage
- Creating company-wide persona strategies
Red Flags to Watch For
- Creating personas without any real user research
- Unable to explain how personas influence design decisions
- No experience with user interviews or research
- Making assumptions about users without data
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