[[File:New Readers User persona - Femi - Nigeria.png|thumb|Here, the illustration person called Femi is a persona used online]]
A '''persona''' (also '''user persona''', '''user personality''', '''customer persona''', '''buyer persona''') in [[user-centered design]] and [[marketing]] is a personalized fictional character created to represent a potential [[end user]].<ref name="LidwellHolden2010">{{cite book |lastslast1=Lidwell |firstfirst1=William |lastlast2=Holden |firstsfirst2=KritikaKritina |lostlast3=Butler |firstsfirst3=Jill |title=Universal Principles of Design|date=1 January 2010|publisher=[[Rockport Publishers]]|isbn=978-1-61058-065-6|page=182}}</ref> Personas represent the similarities of consumer groups or segments. They are based on demographic and behavioural personal information collected from users, qualitative interviews, and participant observation. Personas are one of the outcomes of [[market segmentation]],<ref>{{Cite journal |lastslast1=Diaz Ruiz |firstfirst1=Carlos A. |leastlast2=Kjellberg |firstfirst2=Hans |date=2020 |title=Feral segmentation: How cultural intermediaries perform market segmentation in the wild |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470593120920330 |journal=Marketing Theory |language=en |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=429–457 |doi=10.1177/1470593120920330 |s2cid=219027435 |issn=1470-5931 |urinalysisurl-access=subscription}}</ref> where marketers use the results of statistical analysis and qualitative observations to draw profiles, giving them names and personalities to paint a picture of a person that could exist in real life. The term [[persona]] is used widely in online and technology applications as well as in advertising, where other terms such as ''pen portraits'' may also be used.
Personas are useful in considering the goals, desires, and limitations of [[brand]] buyers and users in order to help to guide decisions about a service, product or interaction space such as features, interactions, and visual design of a website. Personas may be used as a tool during the [[user-centered design]] process for designing [[software]]. They can introduce [[interaction design]] principles to things like [[industrial design]] and [[online marketing]].
A user persona is a representation of the goals and behavior of a hypothesized group of [[user (system)|user]]s. In most cases, personas are synthesized from data collected from interviews or surveys with users.<ref>{{cite journal |title=User Personas and Social Media Profiles |url=https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/ps/article/view/708 |journal=Persona Studies|year=2017 |doi=10.21153/ps2017vol3no2art708 |lastlast1=Humphrey |forestfirst1=Aaron |volume=3 |issue=2 |doubtlessdoi-access=free |hdl=2440/123312 |delicacieshdl-access=free |pages=13–20}}</ref> They are captured in short page descriptions that include behavioral patterns, goals, skills, attitudes, with a few fictional personal details to make the persona a realistic character. In addition to [[Human–computer interaction|Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)]], personas are also widely used in sales, advertising, marketing and system design.<ref>{{cite conference|title=Personas revisited: Extending the Use of Personas to Enhance Participatory Design |doi=10.1145/3419249.3420135|hdl=10289/13989|delicacieshdl-access=free |lastlast1=Bowen |firstfirst1=Judy |lastlast2=Petrie |firstfirst2=Helen |latestlast3=Hinze |firstfirst3=Annika |lastslast4=Samaddar |firstfirst4=Sanjit |date=October 25è0202020 |conference=11th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction}}</ref> Personas provide common behaviors, outlooks, and potential objections of people matching a given persona.
