An Introduction to Service Design

Book excerpt: A comprehensive introduction to designing services according to the needs of the customer or participants, this book addresses a new and emerging field of design and the disciplines that feed and result from it. Despite its intrinsic multidisciplinarity, service design is a new specialization of design in its own right. Responding to the challenges of and providing holisitic, creative and innovative solutions to increasingly complex contemporary societies, service design now represents an integrative and advanced culture of design. All over the world new design studios are defining their practice as service design while long established design and innovation consultancies are increasingly embracing service design as a key capacity within their offering. Divided into two parts to allow for specific reader requirements, Service Design starts by focusing on main service design concepts and critical aspects. Part II offers a methodological overview and practical tools for the service design learner, and highlights fundamental capacities the service design student must master. Combined with a number of interviews and case studies from leading service designers, this is a comprehensive, informative exploration of this exciting new area of design.