Personas and Highways

Personas are an incredible tool in the design process. Be it, software or industrial design.

The challenge: draw a connection between Highways and Personas. What can we learn about the way civil engineers think about building highways, tunnels, and bridges in the context of designing better web sites?

"A persona is a user archetype you can use to help guide decisions about product features, navigation, interactions, and even visual design." (Kim Goodwin, Cooper.com)

Next time you drive about take a look at the various types of roads and bridges. There are terms for some of these classifications: freeway, highways, county road, alley, street... I'm sure there are more. But, the point I'm getting at is that these words conjure different images. Each of these types of roads were designed around a different type of user, different Personas.

I live in Boulder, and drive to Denver often. The primary highway between the two cities is Highway 36. Any study would show that the average type of vehicle on this road is a five passenger car. Probably a Toyota. However I do not think the roads were built with these vehicles in mind only, even considering that these types of cars were the majority of traffic. Instead these roadway systems were designed around the archetype user.

So what do I mean by archetype user? In this case the roads have to accommodate vehicles like regional buses, large 18 wheeler interstate delivery trucks, and garbage trucks. So the highways are designed to allow ease of use for these types of vehicles. The width,grade, materials used, and so on are decided with the needs of these larger vehicles in mind. In designing roadways for the ease of use by these "archetype" vehicles, the overall system becomes easier to use for the average user. If a semi can maneuver the road, the average car can easily do it. But, it does not work reflexively. Can you imagine the headaches a semi-truck driver would have if she highways were designed like residential neighborhood streets?

Design for the archetype user and you'll make them very happy. Additionally, you'll make the average user happy most of the time. But if you design for the average user, you'll make them happy on average. But, you'll alienate your archetype user.