Audience considerations

When designing a solution to fit your audience’s needs and produce the intended results, you need to tailor the program to characteristics of your audience. 

What are the people like in your target audience? (Hint: “The public” is usually too broad.)

• What characteristics might influence your target audience’s willingness or ability to use your program? Will any of the following affect your planning: age of your audience, gender, education level, interests, learning style, schedule, economics, mobility, or access to transportation or language?
• How should you consider the target audience’s attitudes or experiences, habits, values, belief systems or customs in your planning?

What characteristics might create a barrier to the experience you want them to have or the changes you hope to see in this group? Let’s look at some examples. Click each photo below to see how a consideration affects planning:

Let’s look at an example of the audience considerations at work in designing a program.

Click on the Museum or Library icon below to see an example.