ABSTRACT
The best creative work is rooted in a deep understanding of the audience, but one can only gain this understanding if he/she seeks it out. The Segway is a great example of the danger of designing products based on a flawed understanding of the people who would actually use it. As a creative director, one may or may not have a say in the types of research that are conducted, but he/she does need to understand the tools and techniques that are available to her/his team. Once the creative director developed an understanding of his/her audience, he/she wants to document those findings in an easy-to-share and understandable form. The buyer journey in the real-world is complex. It spans offline and online as well as across devices and platforms—if people want to truly understand their audience, they also have to understand the journey they take.
