Synthetic persona research to understand how different audiences experience Everyday Living Interiors — across the website and physical marketing materials — and how to make every touchpoint work harder for the people Sara most wants to reach.
Defined the research objectives, key questions, and interview methodology. Two objectives: understand the gap between ELI's stated philosophy and how visitors actually experience it, and identify the psychological barriers preventing everyday people from considering interior design.
Six research-grade personas representing ELI's full audience spectrum — from the ideal core target to an indifferent non-audience. Each persona has a detailed psychological profile, cultural context, and specific relationship with home and design.
Each persona was presented with Sara's live website (the v1 version, before pricing was visible) and interviewed about their reactions, perceptions, and likelihood to take action. Note: Sara has since updated her website based on the research recommendations — the original v1 is no longer live.
Analysis of all six interviews, identifying themes, insights, and prioritised recommendations. The verdict: the concept is strong but the website is losing its best prospects through invisible pricing, vague deliverables, and a single emotional register.
A comprehensive description of an improved version of the ELI website, incorporating all research recommendations: visible pricing, emotional entry points, concrete deliverables, before-and-after portfolio, elevated couples positioning, and warmth-authority balance. Detailed enough to serve as a testable artefact.
The same six personas were presented with the improved website prototype and interviewed again. Fresh encounter — they experience the v2 website as if for the first time.
Analysis of the Round 2 interviews: visible pricing collapsed the access barrier, the emotional section is the website's strongest element, the couples positioning has no market equivalent, and portfolio proof is now the primary remaining gap.
Demographic profiling of the Holland Park neighbourhood in Diemen-Zuid (5,815 residents, 83% renters, 83% immigration background, 90% under 45) to design a research approach for Sara's first physical marketing action: an 18×18cm, 300g printed card for letterbox distribution.
Six new personas representing the actual residents of Holland Park who would receive this card in their mailbox. Designed from CBS neighbourhood data — spanning young professional to retiree, social housing to owner-occupier, Dutch to expat.
Each persona was presented with the card as if it arrived in their letterbox — physical description first, then content. The interview simulates the real-world letterbox-to-action (or letterbox-to-bin) journey.
The card survives the letterbox (6/6 kept it past initial sort) but fails to convert curiosity into action. The 300g stock is the hero; the missing price is the villain. Three changes would transform it: add "from €80," add one photo, print the URL alongside the QR code.