What do you design, Daddy?

We've been thinking a lot recently about how to describe what we do as Service Designers. For such a relatively new discipline, it's important we do ourselves justice; as individuals, as part of a commercial organisation and of a greater industry.

I've always used the ability to describe what I do at work to my mother - as my benchmark. So when I graduated as a graphic designer, I found it easy to describe what I did; designing posters, logos, exhibitions, brochures and the like - chiefly because she had a very good understanding and experience of such things.

When some time later I embraced multimedia, I was still able to describe what I did to her - only not quite as well; because for her, it was more abstract. So I used metaphors. I talked about multimedia, CD ROMs and early websites being like a mixture of magazines, Television, animation and radio - that you could control using a computer (she'd seen my first Mac SE so she even had a handle on that). She had a very reasonable level of understanding

Now, having moved into service design and innovation, it gets a bit trickier. It's even more abstract - but at least my mom knows what a service is - she's spent a good few years experiencing them and delivering them (she worked in a department store for 20 years).

So imagine what happens when my seven year old son asks me what I design.

At least he understands I'm a designer, and at least he's inquisitive (young kids ask the coolest questions - last year he asked me what 'infinity' was).

But my son has almost no experience of services that he can articulate, but in the spirit of fatherhood and inclusivity I attempt to answer the question and the technique I use is my fall-back. To put myself in his shoes (yup, I got 'user-centred'). I use an example.

I talked about the man that delivers food in lots of different coloured plastic bags. I talked about the website where we choose what we want. I talked about the computer that turns that into a list for someone in a warehouse or maybe a store to go pick for us... etc... etc. And I talk about how we pay for it, how happy we are and how we do it a again and again... (Ocado).

Often that's what I do for folks who ask me what I do if the 'I design services...' answer draws a blank. Even for fellow designers, describing the strategic generation of joint value creation by customer and service provider through something we don't own but is really useful and experience over time across multiple touchpoints... doesn't always work. But the example usually does, because there many, many examples - so it's simply the case of selecting the best one. On second thoughts, maybe for my son, Lego factory might have been a better example.

Anyway, what stories and examples do you have up your sleeve when faced with similar questions? Think about it. What's the elevator pitch of what you do. How do you describe service design (or whatever) to a potential beneficiary of that skill, to someone who you just know will open their wallet once they understand the value of what you can deliver?

It's a big incentive. But for those potential clients to buy-in, we need to be able to tell stories, to bring to abstract stuff to life, to be honest and believable.

In fact all the things you do for a seven year old kid or your mom.

Comments

[Jox]

that's something to think about even as a non Service Designer.
If someone used to ask what I did I could say 'I'm a Stage Manager' and even if they didn't know what that meant it gives you a big clue in the title, I managed a stage, then I could go into more detail if it was needed.
Now the answer needs a bit of rehearsal to make it concise but interesting so I don't start rambling on about children and glitter and sheds!

[Afternoon]

Love that picture!