Non-human and non-user personas
Life-centred design tools to give nature and vulnerable humans a voice
More than human
Non-human and non-user personas represent the animals, environments, and ‘invisible’ humans (factory workers, miners, farmers, and communities, etc.) impacted by our product lifecycle so that we may design to protect and respect them.
Anthropologist, UX researcher, and environment-centred design advocate , Monika Snzel, wrote about non-human personas in 2020, with a focus on environmental personas, as being visual characterisations of the environments impacted by a product’s lifecycle.
Monika argued that non-human personas differ from user personas in that non-human personas are primarily based on facts sourced from respectable global organisations like the UN, more localised affiliate-free organisations and experts, scientists, and the people impacted by any environmental concerns relevant to the product.
Based on classic user personas, and expanding on Snezl’s work, non-human personas may include:
- Threats to the stakeholder’s current condition
- Where and when the stakeholder is impacted by the product life-cycle
- Use of first-person narrative and verbatim to personify the non-human persona to assist empathy among the team
Combining Nielson Norman Group’s user persona and Snezl’s non-human persona guidance, the purpose of a non-human persona could be defined as:
Be a realistic and fact-based representation of a non-human entity to assist in balancing user-centred and life-centred design during project shaping, development, maintenance, and shut-down by fostering empathy and understanding in stakeholders.
An Video Persona
More than users
Non-human personas, however, only represent two of the life-centred design stakeholders—animals and environments.
Non-users are the people indirectly impacted at any stage of the product lifecycle and could include victims of:
- Forced labour
- Marginiliastion created by the use of your product
- People or communities affected by pollution from the supply chain
- Other
Non-user personas may represent a real person or a persona group. They may be a combination of fictional representation and scientific data.
Take the lead
Life-centred design aligns designers and businesses with global goals, and gives them the skills to respond to today’s wicked problems in practical and measurable ways.
#2 Amazon Best Seller in Engineering Design, Dec ’22
“The ideas really resonated with me as I’ve felt this growing unease with human centred design’s echo chamber”
“Super helpful tools for designers… I’ll be sharing them with the students.”
“An amazing book about the topic.”
