Start semester
70 602 Service Design 2: Service Design futures
Students who have taken Service Design 1 will be preferred, but this is not a requirement for this course.
Recommended previous knowledge:
- Service Design concepts and methodologies
- User-centered design methodologies
- Qualitative data analysis
- Ideation techniques
- Prototyping
- Concept communication
Service Design 2 has a research by design focus. This course builds upon Service Design 1 but goes deeper and broader.
- Deeper, by focusing on specific aspects of service design.
- Broader, by addressing larger service design issues that influence the design of service experiences.
It will use the methods that the students have already learned and will allow them to gain more experience by using these methods in the framework of Design Research. In addition, it will give the opportunity to learn new approaches and areas for Service Design and to begin finding an own focus within the field. The semester will be closely linked to the research that AHO is doing together with the Centre for Service Innovation (CSI), and the Centre for Connected Care (C3).
- Ability to read, understand and contribute to design research
- Ability to analyze a service design problem in relation to relevant research theories and models
- Ability to translate theoretical models into practical tools
- The ability to reflect upon the nature of service design in relation to other disciplines
- The ability to describe your position within the field of service design
The course is run differently from service design 1. In service design 2 students will be working more independently and in close collaboration with the researchers that are part of C3 and CSI.
The main learning activities will be based upon Ph.D. projects in collaboration with external partners, where the students will be part of the research team. The course also integrates studio work (group and individual), tutoring and reflective sessions in the classroom, workshops, structured presentations, and discussions with the course participants.
C3 module spring 2018, January 15th – March 23rd: The C3 module is about public service design. It will be targeted towards design for care in collaboration with Akershus University Hospital (Ahus).
- Service Design component: Students will be supporting real healthcare service design projects with case-specific user-oriented qualitative exploration, analysis of findings, design material production, service design concept development, service touch-point prototyping and the development of material that may be used in pilot-test guidelines and protocols.
- Research component: For the C3 module, the course will be establishing a Design Lab at Ahus during the module. This work is closely linked to C3’s work package 3 that will be using Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Research by Design as an approach. This means that the students will be invited to take part in loops of so-called “look, think, act” cycles and be engaged in qualitative data collection and reflexive sessions while working at the C3 Design Lab, with researchers at AHO.
CSI module spring 2018, April 4th – May 25th: The CSI module explores how to design more meaningful service experiences through the view of service design as a cultural intermediary. The Trendslation method for translating cultural phenomena into brand relevant and innovative service offerings will be tested and further developed together with the students, through a qualitative and explorative approach. The CSI module is linked to selected industry/CSI partners
- Service Design component: Students will work with the Trendslation method - understanding how to identify and translate trends into customer experiences through developing future service concepts in the context of industry partner related to areas of co-creation and/or circular economy. Introduction to Brandslation, Trendslation, meaning-driven concept innovation, experiential evidencing and experiential touch-points.
- Research component: The CSI module is built on an explorative Research by Design approach, in which the students act as researchers through participating as designers. Reflexive feedback loops between ‘doing’ and ‘thinking’ feed into ongoing research around how the designer synthesizes and translates socio-cultural phenomena into meaning, and how this meaning is translated into service concepts and service details through a Triple semantic transformation in service design.
| Mandatory coursework | Courseworks required | Presence required | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence required | Required | This is an intensive course and it demands consistent and hard work from the participants. Students are required to attend at least 80% of the main course events described in the detailed calendar for each project to pass the course. The course leader will take assistance 15 minutes after the beginning of each session and will inform the students when they are close to failing the course due to attendance. |
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe) | - | - | Being a practice-driven course, the student’s progression through the both projects will be presented by means of: • Group and individual mid-term deliverables • Workshops • Evidencing material In each module students will have group and individual deliverables that will receive qualitative assessment to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The course will involve the participation in one or more modules related to CSI, C3 and/or DOT projects and the research connected to these. At the beginning of each module, the structure, contents and examination form will be detailed. Each project will have a final presentation and report that will be assessed in pass/fail by an external sensor and the course leader. The details for each project regarding particular deliverables and the evaluation criteria will be described in the brief for each project at the beginning of the module. The students need to pass both modules to pass the course. For those students that fail one of two modules, a portfolio assessment of the whole coursework (this comprises all group and individual mid-term deliverables presented by the student during the semester, additionally to the final presentation), will be carried out by the course leader, the module responsible and a second Service Design lecturer from the Institute at the end of the semester to finally decide if the student has reached the course learning outcomes. |
| Workload activity | Comment |
|---|---|
| Curriculum | Since this is research-based there will be some reading. Don't worry, it's not that bad |
| Lectures | There will be specific lectures from designers, researchers, and external guests |
| Group work | Students will work individually or in groups with relevant research questions |
| Planning assignment | Students will run workshops with companies, researchers, and colleagues, depending upon the module |
| Individual problem solving | Students will be designing as part of research projects, together with external partners |