Understanding a diverse diaspora audience
Led discovery research and persona development to help a community organisation connect with a wider, more diverse audience.
•UX Researcher
The challenge
The Cypriot Federation in the UK wanted to grow its reach, but their audience spans 18-year-olds to people in their 70s, with wildly different levels of interest in Cyprus-related issues. Before any comms strategy could work, they needed to get clearer on who they were actually trying to talk to.
The solution
We started with a four-hour discovery workshop to align on challenges and nail down priority audiences. Then we ran 10 in-depth interviews with Cypriots living across the UK, exploring identity, media habits, and how people felt about the Federation's current presence and tone. That got distilled into three core personas, plus a report covering brand perception, content preferences, event feedback, and where things felt exclusionary.
My role
I co-led the project as Senior Designer, facilitating the workshop, running all ten interviews, and leading persona development and the final report. A big focus was drawing out themes around brand perception, inclusivity, and why younger audiences felt disconnected.
The impact
The research gave the Federation a much sharper picture of who their audience is and what they actually want. It surfaced real gaps in tone, brand appeal, and youth engagement, and pointed toward modernisation, better regional inclusion, and more varied events beyond the political. They came away with personas and practical guidance to shape outreach that actually feels relevant.
Key takeaway
Even well-established organisations benefit from slowing down and listening properly. Honest research and a willingness to reflect can open the door to engagement that actually resonates.
