Share

Designing Our Future. Guest speaker reveals some of the secrets of good service design

Most of us can describe examples of poor experiences we have encountered with businesses and perhaps we can describe one or two examples of very good experiences so how do the companies who provide good experiences do that?

Ben Reason, co-founder and Director of London-based service design consultancy, livework, will deliver a design masterclass at the Norwood Hall Hotel, Aberdeen, on Wednesday 11 May. It will explore the ways in which organisations - both private and public sector - can use design to make their business more competitive, effective and user-friendly by focusing on the customer experience

The masterclass, which is free to attend for all professionals across both sectors, is the second in a three-part series coordinated by the Centre for Design and Innovation (c4di) at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University and sponsored by the Design Council. The format of the event is a keynote presentation followed by a networking dinner which will run from 6.30pm-9pm.

Places must be booked in advance

During the course of the evening, Ben will describe his innovative approach to 'Service Design' - a process that applies the principles of design and customer experience to all aspects of an organisation and in particular how it interacts with its customers. This process includes, among other steps, the improvement and innovation of services and the development of strategies that are built on customer insight.

In his career to date, Ben has pioneered the development of Service Design for public services, leading projects for government departments and agencies across the country for the development of services in health, employment, energy efficiency and housing.

In addition, he will address the transferability of this Service Design approach to the private sector, drawing on examples of his own work with clients including Volkswagen, Orange, Vodafone, Sony and Streetcar.

Ben commented: "."

C4di is one of eight regional and national design organisations to have been awarded a Design council grant to provide a series of lectures such as this. At their core, the lectures are intended to create opportunities for businesspeople and design practitioners to identify and discuss new development opportunities and to communicate the value and applications of design principles in all areas of an organisation.

David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council, said:

"By supporting organisations such as Robert Gordon University and their series of c4di lectures, we are facilitating knowledge sharing and helping to build the capability of designers and design organisations to promote themselves and their services to a wider range of design clients and buyers."

Professor Julian Malins is the Director of c4di - an Aberdeen-based centre for creative thinking that promotes design as a tool for business growth. He said:

"We can all describe examples of poor service that we have encountered. Basil Fawlty's customer relations may be a slight exaggeration but we don't need to go far to experience similar levels of poor service. Whether its using public transport, communicating with broadband providers or visiting the local hospital how often is the experience unsatisfactory? Good service design can make an enormous difference to everyone's lives but it has to be understood and worked at if it is to be effective. The difference between a successful company and an unsuccessful one is dependent on how it treats its customers.

To attend the Ben Reason 'Service by Design' masterclass free of charge, contact Chris Rigby at the Centre for Design and Innovation by Friday 6 May on c.rigby@rgu.ac.uk <mailto:c.rigby@rgu.ac.uk> or 01224 216087.

The last lecture in the three-part series will take place on Wednesday 5 October led by fashion designer Wayne Hemingway which will describe how design lies at the heart of some very successful businesses creating internationally recognised brands

167 views