ideation began this morning

We must "utilize a Personas/Scenario methodology, which will create the User and Environmental Contex...which will assist in the development, application and completion of your final Problem/Purpose Statement." The presentation will include "Documentation of the typical activities condusted in a Group Experience/Activity relative to the Environmental Context/Tasks/Applications in the Day In The Life of your Personas."

How ridiculous does that sound.

In other words, we make up three people who are users or benefitors of our project, describe them, and document a typical twelve hour period of their day. We must rank the importance of the activities and then identify or hypothesis solutions which involve our project.

It's like role-playing, PowerPoint style.

My ideation began this morning...I ditched the boring, rigid formality of it all and started with searching for visuals of the fake people, choosing three portraits found in W that struck me (Kara Walker, Richard Serra, and a model).

I decided they would be "the artist," "the collector," and "the student."

And because it is really all about me, me, me, I inserted myself (toes) into a picture I took of the three "personas."

That picture will show up at some point in the presentation, I'm sure.

Can it be any three people? What is the "project" which they will use? My critique would be that "artist" "collector" and "student" aren't dramatically different. While there are lifestyle differences...they all run in similar circles, and they are all 'safe'. With artist / collector you could get into production / consumption areas, which could be interesting. But what about, say, a single mother, recovering heroin addict, and an art collector. Then you start getting really specific but diverse 'needs' and it could be fun to find a thread.

Without knowing anything at all about the project, that is my $0.02. And I tend to be drawn to the the ugly and subversive. Hence my project in Berlin titled "Eurotrash" about, yep, trash.

Good luck. Let me see the results.

Okay. I understand your point. But my, what assumptions you are making by my very tiny description. Do their lives look rosy?

I have not stated anything about their state of being.

Perhaps the collector is your heroin addict and the high school student is the single mother. As for the artist, she may be married, to a woman, with whom she has a child. Her partner is the successful one; she is the housewife who yearns to make art, but just dabbles.

Or not.

And yes, I will share the results. Likewise, please. But process too--it's good (productive) to be challenged along the way.