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The interview with Gordon explains the use of archetypes in internal communications, and the benefits of taking the time to do this work up front. Gordon is a vice president and a partner at Open Road, a company in British Columbia that designs and develops websites and custom Web applications. He has worked on some interesting projects recently, including a customer portal for BC Hydro, Web strategy for the City of Vancouver, the redesign of Mountain Equipment Coop’s e-commerce website, and many others. Gordon provides strategic input for Open Road’s well-respected social intranet product, Thought Farmer.
Here are the show notes:
00:01 Introduction and welcome; about Gordon Ross, Open Road and Thought Farmer
01:30 Interview with Gordon Ross includes:
Definition of archetypes as “a typical example of a person or a thing”
An archetype is not a stereotype, but rather describes characters we recognize in the corporate world.
An archetype differs from audience segmentation.
The “average” user is not of interest; Gordon shares an excellent example of two males born in 1948 in Great Britain, married, successful …
Why archetypes? Consensus building; common focus gives us insights into the audience.
Personas are more functional, while archetypes are more related to the culture of an organization.
A walk through the process of developing archetypes.
Examples of negative consequences of not doing archetype work up front; the danger of self-referential design.
17:25 Where to send comments; email donna at trafcom dot com or comment here on the show blog.
