Bibliofile Project: Personas
Most of the uses and therefore personas and goals of the Bibliofile product are academic. Certainly, the product could be used and enjoyed as a supplement to recreational reading. However, I feel that, in order to really push the prototype and explore what it could really offer, the project needs to have more academically-oriented personas and goals.
Without further ado, the personas…
Age: 25
Occupation: Graduate Student
Income Level: $10,000
Education Level: Bachelors
Personal Background Information:
Anna has a bachelors in political science and is now working on her masters studying law. She is constantly reading books and peer-reviewed journals. She is often taking notes of her reading for a specific research paper deadline. But, she also takes note of poignant passages with the thought that it will be useful at some point or another in her education or career.
Reason for Using the Product:
School dominates Anna’s life. If she is not in the classroom, she is writing papers and reading. Her main use of the product is central for these tasks. She uses the product to organize her notes, review for tests, and write research papers.
Age: 38
Occupation: Lecturer/Blogger/Consultant on all things Marketing
Income Level: $95,000
Education Level: Bachelors
Personal Background Information:
Lisa eats, breathes, and sleeps marketing. Her lifestyle is nomadic. She is almost always travelling for a meeting or to speak at a conference. She is just as active online, tweeting, positing, commenting on the topic of marketing.
Reason for Using the Product:
Lisa is constantly pushing marketing information to people. Whether it is in the form of a blog post, a conference lecture, or a presentation to a client. She must always keep abreast of the latest trends in marketing and, in turn, keep her output equally fresh. Lisa uses the product to do these tasks.
Age: 55
Occupation: Professor of Architecture
Income Level: $75,000
Education Level: Masters
Personal Background Information:
Stephen loves to talk architecture and design. He enjoyed his time working in the field of architecture but was frequently frustrated by a lack of discussion around the theoretical and conceptual. This drew him back into academia as a professor. He has grown to constantly seeing things in terms of the topics he is covering in his classes. As Stephen gets older, he is becoming fonder of the idea of writing a book.
Reason for Using the Product:
Stephen’s main use for the product revolves around his job. He has found it helpful in developing course curriculum, specifically readings and long-answer tests. But, he also enjoys using it for his own personal reading and projects—specifically the book he has always wanted to write.
Before the product was introduced to Stephen, he was very reluctant to invest in an eReading device and certainly did not like to read electronic documents on a screen. He enjoys books as much as he does reading. He even finds meaning in how books are stored.
Bibliofile Project Posts
Introduction
Personas
Initial Sketching
Paper Prototyping
Tags: academic, design, design process, ebooks, eReaders, interaction, interaction design, personas, research
