Reading III

PROCESS BRIEFS
are well-written highly useful documents that serve to keep the designer on track while working on a project. The brief contains the blueprint for the work to be done as well as the goals for the finished product; as the project moves forward the brief assumes the role of documenting process work. The brief facilitates team communication as well as designer-client communication; it is a place where the designers and client can refer to for all relevant information as well as gain mutual understanding as to the goals and context of a design problem.

ANATOMY OF A PROCESS BRIEF
client information
client sector
client's competition
target audience
context
project overview
hierarchy
project information
tone
problems
opportunities
use of technology
schedule
budjet
hours

PERSONAS
are (usually fictional) user profiles that are meant to give the designer a clear idea of how a typical user or audience member relates to products and what factors influence their behavior. Personas include demographic information (age, gender, income, education level, etc.) as well as psycographic information (personality traits, goals, attitudes, opinions, values, interests, habits, lifestyle). Often the client will provide much of this information about their customers. Because target audience may include a range of people with a range of psychographic and demographic profiles, designers often draw up more than one persona per project - usually about 3-5. These personas are then prioritized in order for the designer to understand what audience segment it is most crucial to appeal to. From these personas, designers construct scenarios describing how these personas interact with the information design. Both personas and scenarios are essential tools for effective information design