1 00:00:00,470 --> 00:00:08,500 Facebook has over 2.2 billion users and Amazon has over 310 million users. 2 00:00:08,500 --> 00:00:11,690 You can see how hard that will be if they tried to interview 3 00:00:11,690 --> 00:00:13,750 every single user on their platform and 4 00:00:13,750 --> 00:00:18,590 created a custom experience down to the users' unique preferences. 5 00:00:18,590 --> 00:00:22,920 Even the biggest companies don't have unlimited resources, which is why they 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:28,130 group users into representative profiles called user personas. 7 00:00:28,130 --> 00:00:33,135 User personas represent the most common types of users for your product. 8 00:00:33,135 --> 00:00:37,160 It'simportant to realize that these are stereotypes and that 9 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:42,430 individual users will act differently than the representative persona you choose. 10 00:00:42,430 --> 00:00:46,750 But it would be extremely prohibitive to create unique user profiles for 11 00:00:46,750 --> 00:00:50,540 the millions of users who could potentially use your product. 12 00:00:50,540 --> 00:00:52,930 Which is why we group people into personas. 13 00:00:54,020 --> 00:00:58,450 To do this effectively, assess your most realistic users. 14 00:00:58,450 --> 00:01:01,460 A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that their business 15 00:01:01,460 --> 00:01:03,850 is targeted at everyone. 16 00:01:03,850 --> 00:01:07,540 Although anyone can use your product, it's important to keep your 17 00:01:07,540 --> 00:01:11,590 eye on the main people you expect would be using your product. 18 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:15,880 Grandmas probably aren't the top visitors of the X-Games site. 19 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:19,490 Likewise, teenage boys don't tend to visit websites about 20 00:01:19,490 --> 00:01:21,920 finding the right retirement communities very often. 21 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,600 Figure out the types of users that will use your product. 22 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,232 Do you have a mostly elderly audience, or do you have a young, teen audience? 23 00:01:30,232 --> 00:01:33,931 [SOUND] The choices you make as you build out your product and 24 00:01:33,931 --> 00:01:37,493 your experience should reflect your target audience. 25 00:01:37,493 --> 00:01:41,060 We also need to keep in mind why people are using the product. 26 00:01:41,060 --> 00:01:42,240 Do they want to buy something? 27 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,320 Do they want to learn more about something? 28 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:49,200 Do they need it right now or are they still comparison shopping? 29 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,610 Are they looking to see their favorite skateboarder's results or 30 00:01:52,610 --> 00:01:55,230 are they buying X-Games tickets? 31 00:01:55,230 --> 00:01:58,150 Are they trying to tour a retirement community or 32 00:01:58,150 --> 00:02:01,370 are they ready to take the next step and buy a retirement home? 33 00:02:02,490 --> 00:02:07,540 We also need to understand the limitations of different personas in groups. 34 00:02:07,540 --> 00:02:10,950 Most grandmas probably don't want complicated sites. 35 00:02:10,950 --> 00:02:12,060 They just want the basics. 36 00:02:13,090 --> 00:02:16,570 On the other hand, a teenage boy may want extra content. 37 00:02:16,570 --> 00:02:19,240 Videos and photos to give them a more in depth, 38 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,730 behind the scenes look at how his favorite athletes are holding up. 39 00:02:23,890 --> 00:02:28,230 Similar groups of users may have similar preferences and limitations. 40 00:02:28,230 --> 00:02:31,070 Most teenagers have shorter attention spans, 41 00:02:31,070 --> 00:02:35,430 while many grandmothers aren't as technically savvy as younger generations. 42 00:02:35,430 --> 00:02:39,420 Although we won't be going in depth into accessibility in this course, 43 00:02:39,420 --> 00:02:44,060 it's important to plan for the accessibility needs of our users. 44 00:02:44,060 --> 00:02:47,400 As people age, their eyesight tends to deteriorate. 45 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,200 Therefore, when designing for 46 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,100 an older generation, we should be conscious of font size and contrast. 47 00:02:54,510 --> 00:02:58,710 Overall, we should design with the most common user personas in mind. 48 00:02:58,710 --> 00:03:02,800 And don't be afraid if it's not a perfect match for an individual user. 49 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:04,860 It won't be, and that's okay. 50 00:03:04,860 --> 00:03:06,260 People are unique. 51 00:03:06,260 --> 00:03:09,880 But our personas will represent the most common traits. 52 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,400 If our app isn't mostly geared to grandparents, let's make it minimal 53 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:18,928 with large, easy to read text to help them find what they're looking for. 54 00:03:18,928 --> 00:03:23,548 If it's a more content-driven site for younger users, it's more acceptable 55 00:03:23,548 --> 00:03:27,128 to provide an immersive experience, rather than an expedited one.