Do not use User Personas: Design for Humans, Not Holograms!

In the realm of UX/UI design, it’s become standard practice to invent fictional user personas - like “Marketing Mary” or “Tech-Savvy Tim.” While these characters may sound helpful in theory, they often do more harm than good. Sure, they might spice up a slide deck, but when it comes to actual design decisions, relying on made-up people can steer you right off course. Why so?

The Problem with Fictional Personas

Let’s break down why these imaginary friends are bad for business:

• They’re not real (obviously). Fictional personas are often stitched together from assumptions, internal opinions, or generic market stereotypes. Without being grounded in real user data, they risk becoming caricatures rather than useful tools. As Nielsen Norman Group puts it, “Personas that are not based on research can mislead design efforts and waste resources.” (source)

• They oversimplify and generalise. In trying to label and categorise users neatly, personas often smooth over important nuances - like accessibility needs, edge case behaviours, or cultural context. As a result, designs based on them may serve no one well, and certainly not the diverse range of users you’re designing for.

• They can hinder innovation. Designing for “Aspirational Amy” can subtly lock your team into assumptions. Instead of questioning, learning, and iterating, you’re chasing the approval of a non-existent person. It’s like testing a recipe on an imaginary food critic and wondering why the guests didn’t like it.

So, What Should We Do Instead?

To create digital experiences that truly resonate in the real world, we must begin by focusing on actual users. Here are some grounded alternatives supported by research that can guide our approach:

• User research, not guesswork. Talk to your users. Interview them. Observe them. Tools like ethnographic research, usability testing, and journey mapping provide rich insights. In fact, studies show that user research reduces the risk of product failure by ensuring a stronger product-market fit (source).

• Prototype and test (with actual humans). Create early versions of your design and get real feedback. According to research from the Interaction Design Foundation, usability testing with just five users can uncover 85% of usability problems. (source)

• Use behavioural data. Analytics tools, heatmaps, and user session recordings provide a clearer view of actual user behaviour, showing us what people really do rather than what we assume they might do. Real usage beats speculation, every time.

• Create typical use cases, not typical users. Instead of inventing “characters,” design for real behaviours and goals. Ask: What tasks are users trying to accomplish? What barriers do they hit? This helps your team stay outcome-focused.

• Design for flexibility. Not everyone fits into a tidy demographic box. Make your interface adaptable—accessible to users with different backgrounds, abilities, and devices. Universal design principles can help here.

Final Thought: Design for Humans, Not Holograms

By retiring the role of fictional personas in favour of data-driven, user-centred approaches, we transcend stereotypes and begin to design for real people with unique needs, quirks, and expectations. The result? More usable products, happier users, and a design team empowered to tackle genuine problems instead of roleplaying.

In short: unless your target market includes “Imaginary Ian,” it’s time to ditch the fiction and embrace the facts.

#UXDesign #UIDesign #UserResearch #DesignThinking #UserExperience #Prototyping #UsabilityTesting #DataDrivenDesign #DesignForHumans #InclusiveDesign #EmpathyInDesign #UserCenteredDesign #DigitalExperience #Innovation #RealUsers