Designing for ‘Everyone’
Identifying mindsets to design truly inclusive product-service-systems.
A few months ago, during my master’s at Politecnico di Milano, we were asked to design a store layout for a leading telecommunications company. “Who are your target customers?”, we asked the team. This was essential for starting our design research. “Everyone!”, they told us. “Ok, but who is the most important of everyone?” “There is no one more or less important. We truly want to create for everyone.”
Something similar happened when we were trying to design a multi-purpose floor for a shopping mall. For the first time, we were not supposed to pick a target audience. We did not have a persona. We were supposed to design for the entire population of a country. All my past experiences and learnings had taught me otherwise, and I was left puzzled.
Personas, Stereotypes and Biases
The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that users or customers cannot be generalised and categorised based on their age range, gender, economic background, or location.
Imagine the context of a telecommunications store. The store has two parts: service and sales. These parts are important, and one cannot be prioritised over the other. In this context, personas could look something like this:
Steve, a 70-year-old grandpa who was unable to book an appointment online, has visited the store to get his wifi modem fixed.
Klara and Tom, a couple in their 30s, have moved to the country and want to get internet for their home. They are exploring options.
Laura, a 22-year-old, has billing issues and visits the store on her way to university. She also purchases a new charging cable while she is there.
Bill, a 40-year-old man, has visited the store during his lunch break to purchase a new phone.
And the list is endless.
Is it right to assume that only certain kinds of people would enter a telecommunications store? Can purchasers of SIM cards, wifi modems, and mobile phones be defined by age, gender, education, or personality? Not all customers who come to fix a problem and struggle with technology are senior citizens. Not all couples are exploring options. Not all youngsters are facing billing issues or buying accessories at the store. Not all corporate workers are visiting the store during their lunch break.
While such personas can help empathise with these customers on a deeper level, there are also a few challenges that arise. Many times, while creating personas, we make assumptions based on stereotypes. The solutions made based on these personas can thus feel limiting. Truly inclusive products and services should not feel isolating. This is where ‘mindsets’ come in handy.
Looking for Mindsets
Mindsets categorise users based on their intent and attitudes in the given context rather than their demographics, education, or personality. Mindsets can provide a broader view of the user group and help make your design process faster and more efficient.
Coming back to the context of the telecommunications store, we can start looking for the different intents or mindsets with which customers enter the store. Some customers come to resolve an issue related to billing, modems, phones, etc. Some come to purchase something — a new plan, a product or an accessory. Finally, some are there to explore the store and its offerings. With this understanding, we can create three mindsets
Resolution hunters: Customers who come to resolve an issue. Their priority is to get their problem solved as quickly as possible. For these customers, good and efficient resolution is key.
Intentional shoppers: Customers who know what they wish to purchase and visit the store to complete the transaction. They may have looked up something online already. They look through different options but mostly for comparison and decision-making. For these customers, an efficient path to purchase is important.
Explorers: These are citizens who have entered the store because they are curious to know more. They may or may not be customers. For them, engaging content, experiences and easy access to information is important.
In this way, we can regroup our many many personas into well-defined and finite mindsets. Identifying mindsets does not mean one has to design for all mindsets every time. However, choosing the right mindsets based on the context can lead to more inclusive products and services.
So does this mean ‘Goodbye, Personas’?
I don’t believe so. There may be many contexts in which users or customers may share many commonalities in demographics, skills, and personalities. A specialised service for Alzheimer’s patients in a senior home, a lunch service for students at a university or a training program for employees at a barber shop can be some examples. In such contexts, personas can be more relevant and can help us empathise with users in more depth.
While mindsets offer a broader view related to the intentions, attitudes and behaviours of users, personas offer a detailed view of the demographics, personalities, and skills of the users. It’s up to you and your team to decide which of the two options makes the most sense for your project and context. When used correctly, these could be the perfect starting point and guide for your work.
Have you come across challenges or scenarios where you struggled to define a user persona? In which scenarios can mindsets be more suitable? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences! 💡