Service Design Show

Are we actively designing our own future, or just everyone else's? 🔮 Discover how integrating "futures thinking" into your practice can help you spot industry shifts early and make better, more deliberate decisions today.It’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day grind of deadlines and deliverables. But if we don't think about the long-term role of design, we risk building a world we don't actually want to live in. In this episode, Marc sits down with Professor Lucy Kimbell—author of the upcoming book "Futures for Design"—to tackle a fascinating issue: the "futures blind spot." We explore why designers work tirelessly to shape the future of healthcare or education, yet rarely apply that same forward-thinking lens to our own profession. 🎧 In This EpisodeThe Futures Blind Spot: Why designers often fail to apply futures inquiry to their own professional practice.Strategic Uncertainties: Why studying what you don't know is far more valuable than trying to predict a perfect, clear picture of the future.Growing Your Futures Literacy: Practical, everyday ways to integrate futures thinking into your team's workflow without adding to the overwhelm.Spotting Weak Signals: How to identify early, quiet trends in the design industry before they evolve into dominant, disruptive forces.If you're ready to turn off autopilot and co-create the future of design with intention, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!We also want to hear from you: If you had to pick one word to describe how you feel about the future of design, what would it be? Drop it in the comments or send us a message!As always, enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!~ Marc--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to episode 25700:00 Episode Introduction01:30 Breaking Design Autopilot02:30 Design is Political03:45 Designing on Autopilot06:15 Consequences of Financialization08:30 Surveillance Capitalism12:00 Next-Gen Design Pressures14:30 Futures for Design Book17:00 Oxford Scenarios Methodology21:00 Transactional vs Contextual30:30 Institutional Fragmentation32:45 Weak Signals in Design35:00 Uncertainties to Scenarios39:00 Scenario Planning vs Sci-Fi45:00 Lucy Kimball's Journey48:30 Limits of Speculative Design52:15 Value of Writing54:15 Present-Day Strategy56:45 Managing Macro Chaos1:00:45 The 10-Year Question01:02:30 Final Thoughts --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucykimbell/UAL web profile and links to publications - https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/1178-lucy-kimbellDesign in 2040 project with UAL graduates  - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrcI04iMvZHJNQxiytGv1yU_iVtNchee_&si=nU5nQp9dYYAXsSmdComing Soon: Futures for Design: Uncertainties, Scenarios, Implications by Lucy Kimbell (Book) --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-youtubeSpotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-spotifyApple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-appleSnipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-snipd

Tired of spending weeks on design strategy only to watch executives scrap two-thirds of your work? 📉 Discover how to drop your design ego, master the "politics" of implementation, and finally get your projects shipped. 🚀In this episode of Inside Service Design, Marc sits down with JD and Gabriel to tackle one of the most frustrating realities for designers: the translation gap. If you've ever felt like clinging to your design artifacts is actually preventing you from making a lasting impact, this conversation will change how you approach your next stakeholder meeting.In this episode, we will cover:Why your best work doesn't matter if the people in the room don't understand why it's important.Why giving stakeholders a "boring" spreadsheet is often the smartest move you can make to drive decisions.JD’s framework for compromising today while guiding your team toward your overarching north star tomorrow.How to successfully transition from focusing purely on your craft to mastering the political landscape of an organization.Where do you draw the line between practicing "design jiu-jitsu" to get something shipped, and compromising the core values of your craft? Let us know in the comments or tag us on social media!If you want to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share this with a fellow designer who needs to hear it today.Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact.~ Marc--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Inside Service Design EP 04:00 UX & Systems Thinking07:00 What is a Business Service Architect?09:15 Managing Strategy & Transformation11:15 Journey Frameworks15:00 Using AI for User Archetypes16:30 Mapping Internal Workflows20:00 In-House Practitioner Insights21:15 Design Values in an AI World24:00 Navigating Corporate Silos29:00 Empathizing with Stakeholders31:00 Proactive Conflict Management35:00 Design vs. Corporate Politics41:00 Why Research Fails Without Business Context43:00 Miro Boards vs. Excel Sheets44:15 Driving Value Through Deliverables46:45 Proving Your Team's Worth47:15 Design Jiu-Jitsu & The MVP52:00 When UX Becomes Just a Verb53:45 Defending Small Sample Sizes55:30 Video Gen in Service Design57:00 Wrap Up & Community Tool Prototype --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondelina-buckley-0631a9https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-leal-80604aa4/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-youtubeSpotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-spotifyApple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-appleSnipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-snipd

Over-optimized systems are quietly killing the human soul of our services by obsessing over speed and efficiency. In this episode, discover how to break free from the "efficiency trap," embrace design as a genuine practice of hope, and use localized indigenous wisdom to design with authentic care and deep community respect.🎙️ In this episodeThe relentless pursuit of transactional and industrialized models has pushed design to prioritize cost-cutting over real human value. In this episode, we sit down with Nan O'Sullivan, former head of the School of Design Innovation at Victoria University, to unpack how to actively push back against this pervasive efficiency trap. We move past standard problem-solving frameworks to explore the transformative power of Mātauranga Māori, positionality, and why designers must learn to look in the mirror before looking out the window to serve others.Here is what we cover:Why treating design like an industrialized assembly line always strips out authentic human care and community reciprocity.How shifting your baseline away from negative problem-solving and toward a practice of hope allows you to forecast a vision of true systemic joy.How to use your positionality as a design professional not to feed your own ego, but to actively enhance the mana (the dignity and respect) of the communities you serve.Why standing out as a distinct human is your ultimate superpower as automated cogs and AI take over routine transactional outputs.How focusing on localized, relational impacts protects incoming practitioners from paralyzing climate and societal anxiety.What is the most important source that helps to ground your design decisions? When the path forward is unclear, where do you look for clues? Let me know, I really do read and reply to all responses.As always, enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!~ Marc--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 25604:00 Practice of Hope06:15 Indigenous Knowledge09:15 Personal Values14:15 Humanity Over Automation17:00 Co-Design Responsibility19:30 Reflection and Reflexivity23:00 Core Curriculum27:00 Local Grounding33:00 Inward Research38:30 Workforce Evolution40:45 Corporate Accountability45:15 Professional Bravery47:15 Commercial Pressures53:00 Relational Frameworks55:00 Actionable Hope57:15 Wrap-up --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nan-o-sullivan-45709759/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle[4. FIND THE SHOW ON]Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-youtubeSpotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-spotifyApple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-appleSnipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-snipd

Want to secure executive buy-in? Stop waiting for a strategic brief from leadership, learn how to pitch solutions that solve your VP's biggest headache.Tired of doing incredible journey mapping work only to realize you still aren't invited to the room where important business decisions are made? In this episode of the Journey Management Playbook, Martin and I break down a highly specific, 5-slide pitch designed to get you a seat at the executive table. Learn how to stop being viewed as just the "journey maps person" and start navigating boardroom politics like a pro.in this episode Why asking your VP what could get them fired is the ultimate shortcut to tapping into executive urgency. A tactical, step-by-step breakdown of how to write your own strategic brief and present a high-value proposition.How to handle heavy pushback from stakeholders and turn a painful "no" into meaningful progress.How to reposition customer experience (CX) from a minor workshop activity into a core business solution.We’ve put together an Objection Response Cheat Sheet with the most common pushbacks and ways you can navigate them. You can download it for free using the link in the show notes.Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.~ Marc[1. LINKS 🔗 ]👉 Playbook Slides - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/-0sy8👉 Objection Response Cheat Sheet - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-objection-response-cheat-sheet-podcastThe Journey Management Playbook - https://www.theydo.com/resources/journey-management-playbook?utm_source=article&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=202605-Global-Marc[ 2. GUIDE 📺 ]00:00 Season 2 Recap02:00 Shifting Focus to Business Impact04:45 The CX Trust Gap Explained06:30 Breaking Out of the Workshop Box11:15 Creating a High-Value Proposition29:45 Repackaging for Time Constraints35:30 Surface vs. Root Cause Problems40:15 Aligning Strategy with Backlogs51:00 Re-evaluating Urgency55:30 Handling Objections & Silence57:00 Setting 90-Day Timelines1:00:00 Turbocharging Your Preparation1:02:45 Overcoming Presentation Rejection1:04:15 Wrap-Up--- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] ---Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-youtubeSpotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-spotifyApple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-appleSnipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-snipd

If building digital products becomes instant and free, what happens to the value of a service designer? Discover why traditional discovery is under attack and how to survive the impending "Design Winter." The rapid trajectory of AI development has completely shifted the rules of corporate problem-solving. In this episode, host Marc van Tijn sits down with academic coordinator Pablo Fernández Vallejo to unpack the deep structural changes hitting the design industry. They move past basic chatbot hype to look at the realities of autonomous AI agents, shifting organizational power dynamics, and why designers must quickly transition from "authors" to "editors" to stay relevant. Here is what we cover:Why corporate obsession with cheap, instant builds risks turning upfront design discovery into an operational roadblock. Why automating the messy, time-consuming parts of qualitative work might actually cause our core design muscles to atrophy. How autonomous AI agents are forcing us to redesign websites and platforms for machine consumption instead of human eyes. How to harden your service ecosystems before competitors or angry clients launch automated, voice-cloned agent swarms to overwhelm support desks. Why the future belongs to designers who can let go of the static deliverable and focus on continuous, systemic agility. On a scale of 1-10, how fluent do you feel with AI as a design material right now? Let me know, I really do read and reply to all responses.Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!~ Marc--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 25503:45 AI Velocity08:45 Future Job Market13:30 Productive Friction19:15 Impact on Designers23:15 What happens to our value 28:30 How we combat corporate Proto Bros34:00 Where we anchor the "real" domain of design36:45 Impact on Services37:30 Autonomous Agents 42:15 Designing AX 47:45 Ecosystem Defense 50:15 Broken Journey Maps52:00 Impact on Organizations56:30 Authors vs Editors --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablofernandezvallejoWebsite - https://www.fernandezvallejo.com/Watch Part 1 of Pablo's Previous Interview on AI on Service Design - https://youtu.be/B142M6lhac8?si=uUKREkC1wztjUSYj --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-youtubeSpotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-spotifyApple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-appleSnipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-snipd