DIGITAL & SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION: TASK 2

20/05/2026 – 03/06/2026 (Week 5 – Week 7)

Valerius Ethan Wirawan / 0372774

Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Digital and Social Media Communication (COM61804) / School of Design

Assessment Task 2: Group — User Persona and Empathy Map

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Lecture

2. Instruction

3. Process Work

4. Feedback

5. Reflection

1. LECTURE

1.1. Week 5 — Persona Building

Task 2 introduced persona building as part of a creative brand strategy. A persona is a fictional audience profile developed from real or observed demographics, behaviours, motivations, needs and frustrations. It gives the design team a more specific person to consider when making communication decisions.

The persona-building process introduced in class was:

Identify active brand supporters through comments, likes, shares and purchasing behaviour.
Conduct audience research and collect relevant demographic and behavioural information.
Identify patterns and divide the audience into meaningful segments.
Build distinct persona profiles based on those patterns.
Use empathy mapping to understand each persona more deeply.
Apply the persona insight to the brand strategy and campaign direction.

1.2. Why Personas Matter

Personas help reveal motivations and emotional drivers that may not be visible through demographic information alone. They guide decisions involving campaign messages, visual language, platform selection, content format and audience interaction.

A useful persona can:

Reveal what motivates the audience and what prevents them from acting.
Guide the campaign and design direction towards realistic audience needs.
Help a brand differentiate itself by responding to a specific lifestyle.
Allow campaign ideas to be tested against a consistent audience profile.
Encourage empathy by placing the audience at the centre of the strategy.

A persona should not be based only on assumptions. It should connect to the brand research, platform observations and audience patterns identified in the previous task.

1.3. Week 6 — Consumer Personas

An effective persona contains more than a name and age. It should describe the user's occupation, location, lifestyle, personality, interests, needs, motivations, frustrations, purchasing habits, digital behaviour and preferred content. These details help the designer understand how the user makes decisions.

The personas also needed to be meaningfully different. Creating three profiles with similar needs would not provide enough strategic value. Each profile should reveal a different communication opportunity for Padini.

1.4. Empathy Mapping

An empathy map examines the selected persona from several connected perspectives:

Who are we empathising with?
What do they need to do?
What do they see?
What do they say?
What do they do?
What do they hear?
What do they think and feel?
What are their pains?
What are their gains?

The purpose is to understand the consumer's mindset, engagement barriers and emotional needs. These findings can then guide the message, visuals, platform and type of campaign content.

1.5. Week 7 — Persona Refinement

Week 7 focused on reviewing the selected persona and empathy map before moving into campaign planning. The final persona needed to connect clearly to a digital communication opportunity. The group also needed to explain why the persona mattered to Padini and how the audience insight could guide the next stage of the project.

2. INSTRUCTION

Task 2 continued from the Brand Study and Social Media Analytics Report completed in Task 1. The purpose was to move from understanding Padini as a brand towards understanding the people with whom the brand communicates.

Each group was required to develop at least three different user personas. The personas had to represent realistic users who might follow Padini's social media platforms, purchase its products, use its online store or respond to its campaigns.

Each persona needed to include a background, demographics, psychographics, lifestyle, interests, behaviour, needs, motivations, frustrations, buying habits and social media activity. The profiles needed to be supported by the findings from Task 1 rather than being general or invented without evidence.

The report structure was:

Introduction: explain the purpose of the task and its connection to Task 1.
Brand Recap: summarise Padini, its audience, platforms and key communication findings.
User Persona Analysis: develop at least three detailed personas.
Persona Comparison: compare their needs, behaviour, platforms and content preferences.
Selected Main Persona: choose one persona and justify the decision.
Empathy Map: examine what the selected user sees, hears, says, does, thinks and feels.
Key Insights: identify the persona's needs, frustrations and decision-making behaviour.
Social Media Recommendations: explain how Padini should communicate with the user.
References and Evidence: include the research sources supporting the analysis.

The required submission was the completed User Persona and Empathy Map Report containing at least three personas and one detailed empathy map. The official deadline was 3 June 2026 at 6:00 PM, during Week 7. Our group submitted the work on 3 June 2026 at 2:00 PM.

Fig. 2.1. Task 2 persona and empathy-map reports in the shared Google Drive folder

3. PROCESS WORK

3.1. Connecting Task 1 to Task 2 — Week 5

Task 1 showed that Padini served a broad mass market and did not communicate towards one highly specific audience. The brand offered affordable fashion for several age groups, but its digital content lacked a consistent personality and did not always turn social media engagement into stronger purchasing behaviour.

Our Task 1 competitor study suggested that Padini could strengthen its communication by focusing more clearly on millennials. Millennials generally have greater purchasing stability than Gen Z and may purchase clothing for themselves, their parents and their children. This connected to Padini's one-stop shopping concept and broad product selection.

We therefore developed the personas around different millennial lifestyles, financial situations and relationships with fashion. The objective was to identify which type of millennial user offered the strongest opportunity for a digital campaign.

3.2. Persona 1 — Chloe Chang

Chloe represented a millennial who enjoys following fashion trends and spending money on new styles. She pays attention to how clothing looks, follows social media fashion content and is influenced by trend exposure.

Key characteristics:

Fashion-conscious and interested in current trends.
Uses social media for outfit inspiration and product discovery.
Enjoys experimenting with different styles.
Responds to visually attractive content, new collections and styling ideas.
May make impulsive purchases when a product appears fashionable or limited.

Chloe offered an opportunity for trend-led fashion communication. However, this direction was relatively close to the younger, trend-focused content Padini already produced and did not solve the need for a more distinct digital strategy.

3.3. Persona 2 — Lauren Alyssa Tan

Lauren represented a practical millennial online shopper. She is 35 years old, works as a freelance virtual support assistant and lives in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Her monthly income is approximately RM4,000, and her work-from-home routine means that she wants clothing that is comfortable but still presentable during calls and daily activities.

Profile overview:

Lifestyle: practical, digital-first and based around working from home.
Platforms: Instagram, TikTok and online shopping websites.
Values: comfort, convenience, reliability, versatility and value for money.
Behaviour: saves outfit ideas, compares products and checks details before purchasing.
Content preference: realistic routines, styling guidance, product information and reviews.

Lauren uses social media to discover outfit ideas before checking a website for more information. She prefers clear product details and needs confidence that a garment will fit her lifestyle, body measurements and budget.

3.4. Persona 3 — Daniel Wei Jian

Daniel represented a millennial with significant financial and family responsibilities. He needs to provide for his parents, children and himself, which makes value, durability and practicality important considerations.

Key characteristics:

Balances personal spending with family responsibilities.
Prioritises value for money and practical purchases.
Benefits from Padini's broad age range and one-stop shopping convenience.
May prefer durable and versatile clothing rather than frequent trend-based purchases.
Responds to family-oriented promotions, practical information and long-term value.

Daniel connected strongly to Padini's family retail model. However, his persona was less directly connected to a social media-led fashion campaign than Lauren's digital shopping behaviour.

3.5. Persona Comparison

Persona	Primary Need	Digital Behaviour	Strategic Direction
Chloe	Trends and self-expression	Follows fashion content and new styles	Trend-led campaign content
Lauren	Convenience, comfort and clarity	Discovers socially and purchases online	Digital-first WFH styling and shopping
Daniel	Family value and durability	Researches practical purchases	Family-oriented value communication

3.6. Selected Persona — Lauren Alyssa Tan — Week 6

After consultation, Lauren was selected as the main persona. Her lifestyle offered the clearest connection between the findings from Task 1 and a future digital campaign. Padini already had a website, affordable products and a broad selection, but Lauren needed guidance that showed how those products could fit naturally into her daily routine.

Lauren's main needs were:

Curated outfit ideas that reduce the time required to compare products.
Clothing that is comfortable at home but presentable during work calls.
Clear information about size, material, fit and product codes.
Affordable pieces that can be styled in several ways.
Real reviews, testimonials and reliable product representation.
A smooth and convenient online shopping experience.

Lauren's main barriers were:

Too many fashion options and limited time to compare them.
Unclear sizing and material information.
Concern that the product may look different in real life.
Uncertainty about whether an outfit will be comfortable and presentable.
Impulse purchasing caused by continuous online exposure.

Lauren's profile could be summarised through the statement: “I need something that looks good on camera but does not feel stiff.”

3.7. Empathy Map Development

Who were we empathising with?

A digitally active millennial woman working from home who wanted clothing that was comfortable, presentable, affordable and easy to purchase online.

What did she need to do?

Lauren needed to choose suitable clothing efficiently, feel confident about sizing and fit, and complete her online purchase without spending too much time comparing different retailers.

What did she see?

A large number of fashion choices across Instagram, TikTok and online stores.
Catalogue images that did not always explain how clothing fitted into a real routine.
Trends, styling videos, product reviews and promotional content.

What did she hear?

Recommendations from friends, creators and online reviewers.
Opinions about product comfort, quality, delivery and sizing.
Advice that work-from-home clothing should be comfortable but still professional.

What did she say and do?

Saved outfit inspiration on Instagram and TikTok.
Compared products before checking out.
Read reviews and size guides.
Looked for clothing that could be used across several routines.
Delayed purchasing when the size or material information was unclear.

What did she think and feel?

She wanted to appear prepared during online meetings without sacrificing comfort.
She felt overwhelmed when too many products were shown without useful guidance.
She wanted confidence that the garment would look and feel appropriate in real life.
She appreciated content that made the purchasing decision simpler.

Pains

Unclear sizing, material and fit information.
Too many online choices and limited comparison time.
Fear that online products would not match the photographs.
Difficulty identifying versatile clothing for work and personal routines.

Gains

Clearer outfit recommendations and practical styling guidance.
Greater confidence in online sizing and purchasing.
Comfortable clothing that remains presentable.
Affordable and versatile garments suitable for several activities.
A smoother journey from social media discovery to online checkout.

3.8. Key Insights

The empathy map produced four important insights:

Comfort and polish: Lauren wanted outfits that felt comfortable but still looked presentable.
Lifestyle content: realistic routines were more relevant than isolated catalogue images.
Guided curation: outfit guidance was more useful than showing an overwhelming number of products.
Trust signals: clear size, material, product and testimonial information reduced uncertainty.

The central conclusion was that Lauren was not looking for endless fashion options; she was looking for clarity. This suggested that Padini should communicate as a trusted styling shortcut rather than only as a large product catalogue.

3.9. Social Media Communication Recommendations

Based on Lauren's persona and empathy map, we recommended that Padini:

Show comfortable and presentable outfits within realistic work-from-home routines.
Create styling guides that reduce the time required to make a decision.
Provide clear product names, codes, fabric details and size information.
Use Instagram and TikTok to guide viewers towards Padini's online store.
Include testimonials and realistic product demonstrations to build trust.
Present versatile clothing as a practical investment rather than a short-term trend.
Use clear calls to action that connect useful content to the purchasing journey.

These recommendations established the foundation for Task 3, where the group would develop the Work-Life Wardrobe campaign for August 2026.

Fig. 3.1. Final persona and empathy-map report files (Google Drive, Week 7)

4. FEEDBACK

Week 5
After reviewing the first persona drafts, we were advised to make the three profiles more distinct. Each persona needed to lead towards a different campaign and content opportunity rather than presenting minor variations of the same audience.

Week 6
We were advised to select the persona most suitable for a digital campaign driven by online convenience and social media exposure. Lauren provided the strongest connection because her behaviour moved directly from social media discovery to website research and online purchasing.

Week 7
The refined Lauren persona and empathy map were approved. We could proceed with a content-planning direction based on millennial needs and a convenient online experience. The campaign needed to respond to Lauren's work-from-home routine, uncertainty about sizing, need for practical styling guidance and desire for trustworthy product information.

5. REFLECTION

5.1. Experience

Task 2 developed quickly because the brand and audience research from Task 1 already gave us a foundation. The main challenge was turning broad millennial characteristics into three believable people with different needs. Our first profiles were not distinct enough, so the consultation required us to clarify the lifestyle and strategic opportunity represented by each persona.

I initially expected the persona task to be mainly about demographic information. During the process, I learned that the most useful details involved behaviour, motivation and decision-making. Lauren became relevant because her work-from-home lifestyle and online shopping habits could guide specific content rather than only describing her age or occupation.

5.2. Observation

I observed that the same brand can communicate differently depending on which user is prioritised. Chloe would encourage a trend-led strategy, Daniel would encourage value and family communication, while Lauren created an opportunity around comfort, convenience, online shopping and practical information.

The empathy map also showed that an online shopping problem is not always caused by the absence of products. Lauren already had access to many choices. Her difficulty came from uncertainty and the time required to compare those choices. This made clear sizing, realistic styling and guided curation more valuable than simply displaying additional products.

5.3. Findings

My main finding was that a persona should affect the final design strategy. Lauren's profile directly suggested work-from-home styling, useful product information, size guidance, testimonials and clear links to Padini's online store. Without those connections, the persona would remain only a fictional profile rather than a practical design tool.

I also learned that empathy involves understanding both functional and emotional needs. Lauren needed the correct garment size, but she also needed confidence that she would look presentable and feel comfortable. This combination of clarity, trust and convenience became the main foundation for the Work-Life Wardrobe campaign developed in Task 3.

Valerius Ethan Wirawan / 0372774 / Digital and Social Media Communication (COM61804) — Task 2

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Valerius Ethan Wirawan (0372774)