Designing a persona for voice: give your action a personality

Understanding voice personas: what their objectives are and how do they help to shape the experience?

If you work on user experience (UX), the word persona probably conjures up activities where you try to understand your users by creating representative archetypes. But when designing for voice, personas can have a different meaning - one that copywriters or audio producers might be more likely to recognise.

This is quite a departure for designers who are more used to designing for the user on apps or websites. Here at the Guardian we have moved away from using "personas" within UX. Instead we use a methodology called "Jobs to Done". So why are we talking about personas? Let me start at the beginning. What is a persona for Voice UX Design?

The definition of a persona is the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others. Applying this to voice experiences, the term persona is synonymous with the word character, such as ones found in books and films. Voice personas are a methodology to help a company or brand define the language and tone of their voice-based product.