WIPO [the World Intellectual Property Organization] is the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation. WIPO hired me to help them create a set of personas to drive the strategy for a complete site redesign. Together, we created a method that allowed the WIPO Communications Team to conduct several ad hoc persona workshops with multiple teams from across the large organization. The project resulted in 19 personas representing the diverse constituents who depend on WIPO every day (from curious students to specialized legal firms to representatives of indigenous people to high-level politicians and beyond). The personas have been wildly successful at WIPO and are helping the sprawling organization drive to clarity across all of their services and product offerings. The new WIPO.int was launched in 2013 to rave reviews.

“Working with Tamara was an inspiration. With her exceptional blend of strategic, technical and personal qualities, she effortlessly bridged the 5,000+ miles which separated our offices. The personas she helped us create were invaluable in building a shared understanding of our users’ needs, which then drove the development of a new architecture and design for our website. The feedback on the new site – both internally and externally – has been overwhelmingly positive. And a year later, our personas are still alive and kicking – our colleagues are using them as a reference in various other efforts to better respond to our stakeholders. Tamara was a pleasure to work with – and much more fun than most international web gurus.” – John Tarpey, Director, WIPO Communications Division