personas

Persona is a term used across psychology, marketing, and the arts to denote a character or social role that an individual presents to others or adopts for a particular purpose. The word derives from Latin persona, meaning “mask” or face in theater, historically associated with actors concealing their true identity. In English, "persona" is often used in both singular and plural forms (personas).

In analytic psychology, Carl Jung introduced the persona as the social face an individual presents to the world. It develops through social adaptation and norms to ease interaction, while shielding the ego. The persona is not the self but a compromise between inner reality and external expectations; excessive reliance on it can hinder authenticity and personal growth.

In contemporary practice, especially in user experience design and marketing, personas are fictional but data-driven representations of user types. They summarize research on goals, behaviors, motivations, and pain points to guide design decisions and messaging. A persona typically includes demographics, scenarios, and success criteria; teams use it to align product features with real user needs.

In theatre and literature, a persona can be a character adopted by an actor or a voice assumed by a writer. The term is often used to describe a narrator or speaker in a literary work who is not the author’s own voice, as in a dramatic monologue or confessional poem.

Across fields, personas are tools for understanding audiences or selves—constructed identities that help explain behavior, inform communication, and structure design.