# Persona Architect

> Standalone persona development system that creates detailed customer personas with visual representation specs, psychological profiles, and cognitive bias mappings. Auto-triggers dr-market-research for intelligence gathering. Use when developing personas for ad campaigns, content strategy, or any marketing requiring deep customer understanding. Called by meta-image-ad-generator and other campaign skills. Outputs personas ready for visual creative development.

- Skill: `tylergarner1994/persona-architect` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tylergarner1994/persona-architect`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tylergarner1994/persona-architect/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: TylerGarner1994 (https://skillmd.com/u/tylergarner1994)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tylergarner1994/persona-architect

---


# Persona Architect

## Purpose
Develop comprehensive customer personas that go beyond demographics to include visual representation specs, psychological triggers, and awareness-level mapping. Designed to feed directly into visual creative development.

## Workflow

### Phase 1: Market Intelligence

**Auto-trigger dr-market-research skill** if not already completed:
- Customer voice research
- Pain point extraction  
- Desire mapping
- Competitive landscape
- Market sophistication level

If research exists in context, verify sufficient depth for persona development.

### Phase 2: Persona Development

Create **5 distinct personas** (expandable to 6-8 if market requires).

#### Persona Structure

For EACH persona, develop:

```
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
PERSONA [#]: [Memorable Name]
Format: [Emotional State] + [Role/Identity] + [Key Trait]
Examples: "Burned Budget-Holder Blake" / "Scaling-Fast Sarah" / "Skeptical CFO Steve"
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

## CORE IDENTITY

### Demographics
- Age Range: [Specific range, e.g., 35-45]
- Gender: [If relevant to targeting]
- Role/Title: [Professional identity]
- Income Level: [Range or bracket]
- Location Type: [Urban/Suburban/Rural + Region if relevant]
- Company Size: [If B2B]
- Industry: [If B2B]

### Psychographics
- Values: [Top 3-5 core values]
- Beliefs: [Key beliefs about category/problem]
- Lifestyle: [How they spend time]
- Aspirations: [What they're working toward]
- Fears: [What keeps them up at night]
- Identity: [How they see themselves]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## AWARENESS LEVEL (Schwartz Framework)

**Current Stage**: [Unaware / Problem Aware / Solution Aware / Product Aware / Most Aware]

**Stage Justification**: 
[Why this persona sits at this awareness level - what do they know/not know]

**Movement Triggers**:
[What would move them to the next awareness stage]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## PAIN POINTS (Layered Depth)

### Pain Point 1: [Surface Problem]
- **Surface**: [What they say is wrong]
- **Underlying**: [The real operational issue]
- **Emotional Root**: [The feeling underneath]
- **Visual Representation**: [How to show this in an image]

### Pain Point 2: [Surface Problem]
- **Surface**: [What they say]
- **Underlying**: [Real issue]
- **Emotional Root**: [Feeling]
- **Visual Representation**: [Image concept]

### Pain Point 3: [Surface Problem]
[Same structure...]

[Continue for 4-5 pain points per persona]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## DESIRES (Layered Depth)

### Desire 1: [Stated Want]
- **Stated**: [What they say they want]
- **Actual**: [What they really want]
- **Deepest**: [The core need underneath]
- **Visual Representation**: [How to show achievement of this]

### Desire 2: [Stated Want]
[Same structure...]

[Continue for 3-4 desires per persona]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## COGNITIVE BIAS PROFILE

**Top 5 Most Effective Biases for This Persona**:

| Rank | Bias | Why It Works | Visual Application |
|------|------|--------------|-------------------|
| 1 | [Bias] | [Psychological reason] | [How to show in image] |
| 2 | [Bias] | [Psychological reason] | [How to show in image] |
| 3 | [Bias] | [Psychological reason] | [How to show in image] |
| 4 | [Bias] | [Psychological reason] | [How to show in image] |
| 5 | [Bias] | [Psychological reason] | [How to show in image] |

**Bias Stack Recommendation**: [2-3 biases that work together for this persona]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## OBJECTIONS & RESISTANCE

### Primary Objection: [Main pushback]
- **What they say**: "[Exact language]"
- **What they mean**: [Real concern underneath]
- **Counter approach**: [How to address]
- **Visual counter**: [Image that overcomes this]

### Secondary Objection: [Second pushback]
[Same structure...]

### Tertiary Objection: [Third pushback]
[Same structure...]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## DECISION-MAKING STYLE

- **Type**: [Analytical / Emotional / Impulsive / Deliberate / Consensus-seeker]
- **Timeline**: [Fast / Moderate / Slow - with explanation]
- **Influencers**: [Who/what influences their decisions]
- **Trust Builders**: [What makes them trust a brand]
- **Deal Breakers**: [What instantly disqualifies]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## LANGUAGE PATTERNS

**How They Talk About the Problem**:
- "[Exact phrase from research]"
- "[Exact phrase from research]"
- "[Exact phrase from research]"

**Words That Resonate**: [List of power words for this persona]

**Words That Repel**: [Words to avoid - feel salesy, corporate, etc.]

**Tone Preference**: [Professional / Casual / Technical / Friendly / Direct]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## VISUAL REPRESENTATION SPECS

### Physical Representation
- **Age Appearance**: [Specific age to show]
- **Gender Presentation**: [If applicable]
- **Ethnicity**: [If relevant to targeting]
- **Clothing Style**: [Detailed description]
- **Grooming/Style**: [Details]
- **Expression**: [Stressed / Confident / Curious / Frustrated / Hopeful]
- **Body Language**: [Posture, gestures]

### Environmental Setting
- **Primary Environment**: [Where they spend most time]
- **Props/Objects**: [Items that represent their world]
- **Lighting Mood**: [Bright / Moody / Natural / Office fluorescent]
- **Background Elements**: [What's in their space]

### Pain State Visualization
- **Setting**: [Where they feel the pain most]
- **Expression**: [Facial expression showing pain]
- **Body Language**: [How pain manifests physically]
- **Environmental Cues**: [Visual chaos, clutter, alerts, etc.]
- **Color Mood**: [Cooler, darker, desaturated for pain]

### Aspiration State Visualization
- **Setting**: [Upgraded environment]
- **Expression**: [Relief, confidence, joy]
- **Body Language**: [Relaxed, powerful, accomplished]
- **Environmental Cues**: [Order, success indicators]
- **Color Mood**: [Warmer, brighter, more saturated]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## SUMMARY CARD

[One-paragraph summary of this persona for quick reference]

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
```

### Phase 3: Persona Presentation

After developing all personas, present for selection:

```
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
PERSONAS DEVELOPED - SELECT FOR AD CREATION
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

1️⃣ [PERSONA NAME]
   [One-line description]
   Awareness: [Level] | Top Bias: [Bias] | Decision Style: [Style]

2️⃣ [PERSONA NAME]
   [One-line description]
   Awareness: [Level] | Top Bias: [Bias] | Decision Style: [Style]

3️⃣ [PERSONA NAME]
   [One-line description]
   Awareness: [Level] | Top Bias: [Bias] | Decision Style: [Style]

4️⃣ [PERSONA NAME]
   [One-line description]
   Awareness: [Level] | Top Bias: [Bias] | Decision Style: [Style]

5️⃣ [PERSONA NAME]
   [One-line description]
   Awareness: [Level] | Top Bias: [Bias] | Decision Style: [Style]

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

SELECT:
- Individual personas: "1" or "2, 4" or "1, 3, 5"
- All personas: "all"
- Skip personas (general targeting): "skip"

Or type specific ad concepts to pursue →
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
```

### Phase 4: Output for Campaign State

Package all personas for storage in campaign state file:

```
## CAMPAIGN PERSONAS

[Full persona details for each]

### QUICK REFERENCE MATRIX

| Persona | Awareness | Top 3 Biases | Decision Style | Key Pain | Key Desire |
|---------|-----------|--------------|----------------|----------|------------|
| [Name] | [Level] | [Biases] | [Style] | [Pain] | [Desire] |
| [Name] | [Level] | [Biases] | [Style] | [Pain] | [Desire] |
[...]
```

## Persona Differentiation Rules

Ensure personas are genuinely distinct:

1. **Different Awareness Levels**: Not all at same stage
2. **Different Pain Priorities**: Primary pain varies
3. **Different Decision Styles**: Mix of analytical/emotional
4. **Different Bias Profiles**: Different psychological triggers work
5. **Different Objection Types**: Various resistance patterns
6. **Different Visual Representations**: Visually distinguishable people

## Quality Standards

- Base ALL personas on research data (never fabricate)
- Include specific language from customer voice research
- Use placeholders for needed data: `[INSERT: specific data type]`
- Every persona must have complete visual representation specs
- Verify personas are meaningfully different from each other

## Integration Notes

### When Called by Other Skills
Return:
1. **Full Persona Profiles** - For campaign state storage
2. **Selection Interface** - For user choice
3. **Quick Reference Matrix** - For easy comparison

### Standalone Usage
When used independently, output:
1. Complete persona document
2. Recommendations for which personas to prioritize in campaigns
3. Suggested creative angles per persona