Persona

A persona is a social role, or a character played by an actor. The word is Latin for 'mask' or 'character', sometimes said to derive from personare, 'to sound through'.

In archetypal psychology, the Persona is the mask or appearance one presents to the world. It may appear in dreams under various guises.

As used in the design field, the Persona is an artifact that consists of a naratrive relating to a desired user or customers daily behavior patterns, using specific details, not generalities. A very popular artifact is the 'persona poster' that is usually presented in a 18 inch format with photo and text.

See also: alter ego

• Persona is also a movie from 1966 directed by Ingmar Bergman.
• Persona is also a series of console role-playing games.
• Wikipedia:Persona tells about how a user uses Wikipedia.