Published in Design Issues, this article (co-authored with Danny Godin) offers a critical rethinking of personas, a tool designers often take for granted. While widely used, personas have rarely been subjected to deep critical analysis. Our paper encourages designers to consider more critically how personas are created and the assumptions they reinforce, highlighting both their value and their limitations.

We propose a new approach to persona development, grounded in design thinking, persuasive design, and participatory research, and point to future directions for making this method more responsible and reflective.