Advanced Service Thinking and Design Practice

The last decades have seen the application of already existing design practices to various service industries, with some degree of success. In this elective, we will explore how design can advance further in the service sector through a more specialised mindset and skill set for design research, ideation, and prototyping. The course is composed of two main parts:

Part 1, on service design research, highlights how service users are always strongly connected to the production of a service. Special attention can be paid to this in design research, and we will offer hands-on exercises in methodologies that help you do so (notably Service Safari's and Journey Mapping).

Part 2, on new service ideation and prototyping, highlights how value creation in services relies on collaborations between service users and producers that can only be partially controlled and planned for. Here as well we will offer hands-on exercises, using specialised methods (notably Bodystorming).

Furthermore, the elective will work with real life cases from multiple service sectors (e.g. health, mobility, information, legal). Most exercises are group work, set up as a codesign effort where case interests will be weighed against your personal and group learning goals for developing your mindset and skill set for service design.