Case Study: Persona Creation
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Centralis uncovered and illustrated five personas to bring Discover closer to their cardmembers.
The Challenge
Discover needed their designers to be grounded in a rich understanding of the customers they serve.
This required analyzing all the different ways customers use credit cards, from small daily purchases to capitalizing on rewards programs.
They turned to us, their longtime UX research partner, to identify how the range of Discover cardmembers differ in their use of credit cards and their overall relationships with finances.
The Process
Centralis began by using mobile ethnography to capture everyday “credit card moments” from over forty participants across the United States.
We then selected twenty of those participants for in-depth interviews, some in-person, others remotely, and used their commentary to illustrate important details about their relationship with finance.
We analyzed the data from both the virtual diaries and interviews to draw out key similarities and differences among types of users, which we aggregated into five unique personas.
The Impact
Centralis provided both topline and detailed profiles of the five personas, including specific design principles for each one.
The personas were general enough to encapsulate the range of Discover cardmembers, while still providing the necessary details to help design teams empathize with their users. We ensured the personas were quick, telegraphic, and compelling by illustrating them with images and quotes from live participants.
Overall, this research provided the personal context that Discover has used to inform their design and marketing initiatives ever since.
Our Value
These personas represent real users. Centralis’ research makes it easy for Discover to remember this, keeping the customer front-of-mind during the design process.
We’ve continued to capitalize on our research in following years, as our now in-depth knowledge of these personas has informed more than forty subsequent projects with Discover. We continue to work with them today.
- Principal, Consumer Insights, Discover