From our insights (generated from a survey with 140 responses, as well as six in-person user interviews) we have created two user personas.

The first is the more typically visible user: The Situational User. This user is a Rice Student that typically menstruates monthly and can usually predict when it will start, but not always. They think menstrual products should be free, but doesn’t feel financially burdened by purchasing products & doesn’t budget for them. They also care about product quality (they don’t like tampons with cardboard applicators or thick pads), and as such they would rather buy themselves a higher quality product then use a poor quality free product. But, in a situation of need they will take one free product, but typically won’t take multiple.

A typical scenario for our situational user is as follows: They are in a building in the academic quad when their period starts unexpectedly. They have some products back in their room, but none on hand. They ask a friend if they have any, but they don’t either. The bathroom near their classroom has a coin-dispenser, but the user doesn’t have any coins on hand. They head to the RMC, where they take one pad from the Rice Women’s Resource Center, which holds them over until they get back to their room.

Our second user is more hidden: The Long-Term User. They are also a Rice Student that typically menstruates monthly and can usually predict when it will start, but not always. However, this user feels financially burdened by purchasing menstrual products and budgets for buying them. This user also cares about product quality and has a preference to not use cardboard applicators and thick pads if they have a choice, but they will use lower quality free products as needed. This user wishes they had access to as much high-quality free product as they needed.

It’s harder to determine a typical scenario for this user, as they are more hidden. However, it is clear that their needs are different, and they need a more sustainable and long-term solution to access high quality products.

• A few insights that drove the creation of these user personas are:
• 80% of our survey respondents menstruate monthly, and 67.2% can typically anticipate when their periods will start.
• 35.1% of respondents budget for purchasing menstrual products.
• “I would rather buy my own products then use poor quality free products” – Interview Quote
•  Users typically don’t feel like they should take multiple products, but our interviewee who said she feels financially burdened said she would take multiple, “everyone needs more than one.”