Kelly Robinson: “Getting Personal: Do Personas Help or Hinder Content Design?”

Personas are tricky things. While their intent is to understand a user and effectively speak to their needs, they can often lead us astray if we’re not careful. Under the hood, there are often misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and wonky assumptions.

In this talk, Kelly Robinson will reflect on lessons she’s learned about audience targeting, particularly in the realm of UX content strategy. How do we avoid personal biases and pave the way for sincere empathy? Is it better to be broad or specific? Is it even possible to assess the unique needs of everyone who will be experiencing your product or design?

Kelly Robinson is a content strategist who’s currently consulting in the startup world. She’s spearheaded content and UX initiatives from retailers like Home Depot and eBay to performance acts like Blue Man Group. Her specialities include UX writing, user research, editorial strategy, and front-end development. Kelly is an animal welfare advocate who can often be found pet-snuggling, wilderness-wondering, songwriting, and reading ghost stories.