CHALLENGE

To create a set of personas that can be used throughout all divisions at the City of Kingston. These personas are designed to increase awareness of and empathy towards people of different demographics and marginalized communities in order to create more inclusive products, services and communications.

Demographics

Age:

Status:

• Visitor/tourist Immigration
• Citizen
• Permeant Resident
• Landed Immigrant
• Student visa (international students)
• Refugee
• Another status

Racial Group identified with:

• Indigenous ( Metis, First Nation, Inuit, Another Indigenous identity)
• Black(African or Afro-Caribbean decent, AfroLatin, African Canadian)
• White (European Descent)
• South Asian (Indian, Patistani, Bangladeshi)
• EastAsian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thailand, other southeastern Asian decent)
• Latino (Spanish, Brazilian, Hunduran, Hispanix Decent)
• Middle Eastern (Arab, Persian, Turkish, other)
• Another racial identity (specify): ____________

Identify as a person with a disability:

• Vision
• Movement
• Thinking
• Remembering
• Learning
• Communicating
• Hearing
• Mental health

Sexual Orientation:

• Twosprit
• Asexual
• Heterosexual
• Gay
• Lesbian
• Bisexual
• Queer
• Pansexual
• Other 


Gender:

• Two Spirit
• Man/Boy
• Woman/girl
• Non-bianary
• Gender fluid
• Transperson
• Another gender

Language:
Primary language __________ Other language(s) ___________

Marital status:

• Married
• Common-law
• Single (never legally married)
• Separated, but still legally married
• Widowed
• Divorced
• Another marital status

Dependents: any?

Family Status:

• Single parent
• Two parent
• Kin careprovider
• Another family status

Employed:

• Full-time
• Part-time
• Gig work
• Self-employed
• On leave
• Contract
• Unemployed
• Retired
• Caregiver to a family member
• Receiving government benefits
• Parental EI
• Employment Insurance
• Income Subsidy
• Situational Subsidy
• Contract worker

Business owner:

• small
• medium
• large size business

Volunteering Work: any?

Housing status:

• Home owner
• Renter
• Homeless (couch surfing, precarious accommodation)
• Street living/encampment

Psychographic profile:

• Values
• Goals
• Needs
• Pain points
• Hobbies
• Personality traits
• Interests
• Political party affiliation

Technology:

• Technological literacy: scale from inexperienced – very experienced
• Devices used: Laptop/PC Tablet Mobile phones Public facilities (library, job centre)
• None
• Internet browsing: scale from inexperienced – very experienced
• Email
• News/blogs
• ShoppingPaying Bills
• Gaming
• TV/Movies
• Banking
• Browsing
• Social media: scale from inexperienced – very experienced or none
• Internet availability: home internet (poor – excellent connection), mobile data.

OUTCOME

This initiative was a huge, high-profile success and created a great deal of interest and awareness of what personas were and an appreciation of how they could be used in divisions and business units throughout the City of Kingston.