Personas are frequently used in design education to represent target users. They have also become a point of reference to generate ideas and evaluate solutions that resonate with target users. The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of persona priming on both ideation fluency and idea originality during brainstorming tasks. In a three between-subjects experimental design study, sixty industrial design students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: single persona, multiple personas, and no persona. A one-way, between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed an overall persona priming effect on fluency and originality. Participants in the multiple personas group showed higher ideation fluency and generated a greater number of original ideas compared to either the single persona group or the control group. The study demonstrates that multiple personas positively influence idea originality; however, their effect on increased empathy among end users remains uncertain.