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Dive into the complete episode list for Service Design YAP. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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Pub. DateTitleDuration
01 May 2023Service Design meets Speculative Design, with Tobias Revell from the Arup Futures Team00:50:53

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WHY LISTEN?
In our launch episode we talk with Tobias Revell,  who leads the Future's practice at   Arup

Tobias is a fantastic storyteller, with deep experience in multidisciplinary design and  our conversation covers topics ranging from  how to establish and grow a successful speculative design team, to  top tips for new designers looking to network,  (via corporate greenwashing and Billie Eilish).

The Next Generation Service Designer question in this episode comes from  Amrutta Supate, Juliee Ingle and Yalena Sun.  The designers are currently studying Service Design at the RCA and found time to come up with a great (and taxing) question about positioning a speculative exploration of solar energy in low income communities. 




Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

03 Jun 2023Finding innovation opportunities within taboo topics, with Katinka Schaaf, Service Design Lead Admiral Pioneer00:48:20

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Katinka Schaaf is a seasoned Service Designer who's career has focussed on designing for the future.  She's currently leading  Service Design at Admiral Pioneer,  the insurance giant's innovation incubator.

Katinka tells us about her career story and we spend time exploring how design research can be tailored to tackle taboo topics. Katinka's teams work focused on the menopause shows the tools and techniques that can be applied to identify real opportunities associated with a topic that many find difficult to talk about.

This episode's student question comes from Ebby Lai, who is currently studying on the Innovation and Service Design  Masters course at Glasgow School of Art.



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

01 Jul 2023How can designers tackle the climate crisis with Aurelie Lionet from Design Declares.00:44:24

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How can Design help society to tackle the climate crisis?  Find out in this episode featuring Aurelie Lionet, one of the founders of Design Declares .

Aurelie shares the 8 Acts that we should all sign up to if we're going to make a difference to the fate of the planet and also shares stories that include how she wound up spending time in a UK jail (as part of a design research initiative, obviously).

In the podcast, Aurelie also mentions the work of Muhammad Yunus, who she credits with encouraging her to pursue a purposeful design path. He's well worth looking into.

She also states that Project Drawdown  is one of her favourite sources. This comprehensive site provides a great list of climate friendly solutions from alternative concrete through to peatland protection and rewetting. 

Thanks also to our next gen designer, Ada Maymó Costa for asking Aurelie about the key to starting a purposeful movement.



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

04 Aug 2023How pioneers establish a culture of design in their company, with Amy Blackwell VP of Experience Design J.P. Morgan01:00:51

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What can a cat on a Roomba (called Helga*) tell us about how AI will reshape the  creative industry?

How do you introduce design into a bank that's never been "design led"?

How do you break into a profession when employers look at your CV with a narrow mind?

Find out the answer to these questions and so much more as YAP talks to JP Morgan's VP of design, Amy Blackwell, in a conversation that's often irreverent, but never irrelevant

Thanks also to Silpa Jayasurya from Ulster University, where she's recently graduated with an MA in UX and Service Design.

Amy Blackwell is an Experience Designer at JP Morgan. With a Masters in Product Design, she has spent the last 13 years conducting user research and designing delightful products and services at agencies and in-house. Amy lives in Poole with her husband, cat and tortoise.

*the Roomba is Helga.... the cat remains anonymous.



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

14 Sep 2023Service Design YAP talks about the SDN Global Conference -Berlin!00:09:23

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On October 5th-6th Service Designers from across the world will come together in Berlin for the Service Design Global Conference

They'll talk about the challenges facing the industry,  catch up with old friends, meet new friends and hear inspiring talks.

They'll also argue about the availability of good coffee in Berlin.  It's just what designers do. 

In this bonus pico-podcast, we talk to SDN's David Russo,  about:

  •  the conferences overarching theme, 
  • the most interesting speakers
  •  how to play the AI drinking game,  and 
  • what's going to be expected at the Service Design Afterparty (imagine Coachella + Burning Man for the Design Community). 


You can get your tickets here and, for a limited time,  use the code ALLSDGTENPERCENT to get your Service Design YAP listener discount

We'll also be recording a YAP Student episode at the event tapping into the world of our next-gen designers (and rewarding them with exclusive swag). Watch out for our roving reporters.



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

15 Oct 2023Service Design YAP meets the Next Gen Designers at SDGC Berlin01:10:16

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At the Service Design Global Conference in Berlin, we talked to 9 designers at the beginning of their professional journeys.  Each told a different story about what brought them to the discipline and what their hopes and aspirations were. 

Thanks for sharing your stories.


The YAP team for this episode were:


Special thanks to the folks from the Service Design Podcast for lending us their recording kit when ours "went missing" on a flight.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Resources mentioned in the podcast.

Polina

Jaidon

Felipe

Valentine

Andrea




Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

01 Nov 2023Service Design YAP meets Scott Shaw: design leader ex- R/GA ex-Beats by Dre00:45:41

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In this episode we meet the multi disciplinary designer, Scott Shaw and hear his four tactics for designing experiences that engage humans.   

He also shares tips about how he made his relationship with his "design husband" work, and how pervasive experience branding is ruining the game of cricket.

Scott  has held various design leadership roles both in house and in agency. Having cut his teeth at R/GA and Huge, he’s gained experience across the board on projects ranging from storytelling platforms for the visually impaired to full scale plant management software.


References from the show:

Universal Everything.  Fantastic any hypnotic AI generated walking figures.... prepare to lose an hour watching and guessing what's next.

Super Mario Bros Designing On-Boarding  Elegant. Engaging. Does not feel like on-boarding. 



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

18 Dec 2023Service Design YAP meets Jeanette Clement from BT EE.00:37:59

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In our last episode of 2023 we meet Jeanette Clement, a seasoned service design leader who helps organisations meet the needs of users through evidence-based decisions, collaborative design and problem solving strategies.

Jeanette currently working as the Head of Service Design at BT and EE, where she is leading a user-centred transformation within the organisation.

Under Jeanette’s guidance,  the User Research team and now the Service Design team have blossomed, delivering value through  user-centered approaches and agile methodologies.

In the episode Jeanette talks about how design has been championed at BT by  its Design Director, Connor Ward and the ground-breaking Design Apprenticeship Scheme, set up recently by Richard Chong, who sadly passed away this year. Donations can be made to Richard's charities here.

Jeanette also mentions the  inspirational work of Kate Tarling,   and specifically her work around the Service Organisation.

 Jeanette previously held the position of Head of Design and User Research at Parliament Digital Services. Here, Jeanette established multidisciplinary teams, fostering an agile and lean approach to design and development.


BT Design's blog can be found here.






Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

20 Jan 2024Service Design YAP explores Trauma Informed Design with Jenny Winfield00:46:11

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In this episode we have a frank and fresh talk with Jenny Winfield about Trauma Informed Design Research. We discuss Jenny's route into the profession and she provides a clear and concise overview of Trauma Informed Design, and its four pillars:

  • Safety
  • Trust/Transparency
  • Agency &
  • Hope 

Jenny also shows how these have been applied in her favourite projects - who knew that death doulas existed?

Links to references in the podcast:

This is HCD.  A great intro to Trauma Informed Design.
Practicing without a licence.  An academic paper that looks at negative impact of  design research turns into therapy, by Tad Hirsch

To learn more about  Chayn, a charity supporting those experiencing gender-based violence,  (or to support them with a donation) click here.

Jenny's site: www.jennywinfield.co.u



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

14 Feb 2024How play encourages bolder outcomes in collaborative service design, with Kris Kelly-Frère01:03:27

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Kris Kelly-Frère is a singular individual.  When we first met at a design event, the room was filled with austere design folk in cookie-cutter black t-shirt and black jeans. Kris was the only person wearing a kimono.   You just knew that he'd have something interesting to say.

It turned out that Kris has a lot to say about the concept of Play . Especially how fostering the conditions for play helps groups to collaboratively design better and bolder solutions that are relevant for them and their stakeholders.

He's passionate about taking concepts developed for encouraging autonomous and intrinsically  motivated play in kids and applying this to service design engagements.  This very different approach, has yielded very different outcomes with materially better impact.

There are two things to note in the podcast. 

First, although we started out with the intention of following our  YAP interview framework, Kris' "natural talent for storytelling" meant that we  departed from the framework before we'd really started... and the episode is all the better for it. 

At one point a woman dresses as a bee and rides a penny farthing.  Sometimes you have to give in and go with it. 

Second, this is the first time that we've used AI to edit the episode. The results were interesting, rather than time saving. I'm sure that things will improve.

About Kris


As Creative Practice Lead for J5 Design, Kristofer Kelly-Frere makes magic serious business and wants to help you explore the edges of what seems possible. J5 is a design studio dedicated to creating a kinder, more beautiful future together in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

With more than 15 years of experience in senior design roles, Kristofer has worked across a range of public, private, and government institutions to craft experiences, lead deep engagement, found design labs, and deliver ground-breaking social impact projects. Kristofer led the team responsible for “Braver Training Grounds” - a project with Red Deer Housing Authority that won the 2022 Global Service Design Award. Success like this is the result of his love for playing in the mud of ambiguity in order to move innovative dreams across the threshold into reality.




Links & Peeps  that Kris mentioned in our podcast:

The Land.  A short film about adventure play in England/North America.  Kris said that he's  intrigued by the kinds of questions it asks if you start thinking about comparing the dynamics between the play workers and kids vs. designers and clients. And for me lets us think about the magic and messy space between design (solutions) and art (questions) that we might call play.

In the episode Kris mention some incredible folks who have influenced his  practice.

Erin Dumenko, Lisa Latouche (https://lnkd.in/gKqsjrfB), Meghan Durieux,



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

18 Mar 2024Does designing with love improve service outcomes? YAP talks with Clive Grinyer.00:54:01

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In this episode we talk with Clive Grinyer. He's not only one of the most universally respected members of the UK service design community, but also a fantastic storyteller, as evidence by the podcast which flows between the Aristotelian version of love and Taylor's version (yes, that Taylor). 

We talk about  the relationships between love, trust and a healthy bottom line and how more companies need to take the value of  “customer love”, ubiquitous in mission statements, and bake these into customer journeys.

Clive's new project , Project Love,   considers how designers can design with love and design to foster the conditions that promote love between human beings.  And this could not have come at a better time.   For a world that's seemingly obsessed with "Love Island", the daily news  indicates that love is definitely not all around at the moment.


References in the podcast

How Korean smart crossings are helping mobile fixated citizens to cross roads.   Wired article here.
The Speed of Trust  video here ... or book (please consider buying a preloved version).

Clive's book Redesigning Thinking  will be published in 2025. 

Clive's Bio


Clive Grinyer is an advisor and trainer in service, digital and transformation 

design. He is a strategic advisor to Bosch and has delivered executive training 

in design to companies including Honda, Panasonic, the Dorchester Hotel 

chain, UK Fire and Rescue services and the Bank of England.

Clive has led design and innovation teams for Barclays Bank and Cisco, set up design studios for Samsung and telecoms company Orange and was Director of Design and Innovation for the UK Design Council. He started his career with 
innovation consultancy IDEO in the US and was the founder of the design consultancy Tangerine along with Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive. Clive was Head of Service Design at the Royal College of Art (RCA) from 2019 to 2023.

Creative review placed Clive in their Top 50 and described him as “a passionate advocate for the transformational potential of design for some three decades. Today’s focus on the value of digital product design and on design’s value in leading customer experience in the UK is, in large part, due to his work." 

Clive speaks at international conferences and is the author of the book “Smart Design”, on design and technology, and is writing his next book “Redesigning Thinking” on how to use design methods to make better decisions. He hasbeen a trustee of the Royal Society of Arts and Chair of the Design Business Association Design Effectiveness Award





Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

08 Apr 2024How to pay bills and feed your soul with a Service Design portfolio career, with Daniel Tuitt.00:49:38

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Many of us started are career as business consultants before finding Service Design, however, few of us can claim that the lure of a free Friday fish and chip lunch started their design career journeys. 

Daniel Tuitt's career journey  has given him a great perspective about portfolio careers, where commercial and pro bono projects can be balanced to "pay the bills and feed the  soul".  Portfolio careers are not for everyone, but, for the right designers, they can provide vital autonomy when it comes to taking work that's aligned to your values.

Daniel also sets out some ground rules about working with and for under-represented groups.  He talks about how vital it is to avoid positioning designers as saviours and how engaging stakeholders in community co-design projects involved balancing listening, respecting input and paying participants.

Thanks to Ruchi Lockande, who recently graduated from Brunel Uni for this episode's student question.

About Daniel

Daniel is an Accredited Service Designer master trainer with Global Service Design Network with over 12 year experience in innovation strategy, business and service design. Through his portfolio career, he has helped large international organisations, startups, and social impact organisations navigate complex challenges while challenging them to think about WHY and HOW they create new value. He works with brands, including Nike, Lloyds Bank, Ministry of Justice, Samsung, BT, Lego, and Vodafone, to identify challenges that stop growth. He helps businesses discover & leverage new technologies, business models, service opportunities, systems thinking & co-innovation as a lead service designer. Daniel is obsessed with the intersection between building communities, unrepresented startups and creating new value worldwide.

Links from this episode.

The Wheel of Privilege
Climate Labs UK
Open IDEO
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? By Michael Sandel 



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

01 May 2024Knowing when its time to quit. Emma Parnell talks about the importance of being intentional when making your next design career move.00:38:50

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In this episode we meet designer Emma Parnell and talk about working out when its time to move on.    In

Many of our episodes focus on finding your idea job, but knowing when it time to go is equally, if not more important.  Emma talks about the leading indicators that should nudge us to to consider finding our next role, even when we're working in a great role with people we love.

We also have a great student question from Carin Effendy,  from the University of Bath, who's asks about evaluating the real values of a new employer.

One of Emma's favourite sources is Lou Downe's Good Services. Its a classic.

About Emma


Emma Parnell has 15 years experience as a designer. This is split between strategic brand development and user centred design for products and services. Emma has supported a wide range of organisations to design services that work for the people who use and deliver them including Tesco, NHS Digital, Cancer Research UK and many other public and third sector organisations.
Building connection is at the heart of Emma’s work. She is passionate about the relational aspect of service design because ultimately services are delivered by people, for people. Emma is a champion for inclusive design and equity of access for all - especially in the gender diversity space.





Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

04 Jun 2024Redesigning prison education by fostering trust (and founding a record label), with Judah Armani00:53:46

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Ever wondered how society-driven design can spark profound social change? Join us as we sit down with Judah Armani, an inspiring educator who shares his unique journey from studying design at St. Martin's to cleaning industrial bean-pots for Heinz, and how these experiences shaped his passion for creating meaningful dialogues that lead to material change.

Judah takes us through the importance of moving beyond quick-fix methods, explaining how a balance between data-driven design and visionary insights can lead to transformative ideas that resonate deeply with communities.

Judah's two decades of experience reveal the necessity of being open to personal change before facilitating broader societal transformations.

We dive into the nuances of designing conversations that foster genuine collaboration and trust, stressing that these processes can't be rushed. From building trust within historically let-down communities to creating authentic, impactful solutions, Judah's insights illuminate the critical role of empathetic engagement in driving sustained social change.

But the conversation doesn't stop there. We also explore In House Records, an innovative approach to prison education, where music becomes a powerful tool for learning and rehabilitation. Judah introduces the concept of a record label as a dynamic learning environment, merging numeracy, literacy, and business skills in captivating ways. This chapter not only showcases the enthusiastic response from inmates but also critically examines the limitations of traditional education models. Through compelling narratives and personal anecdotes, we uncover the transformative potential of aligning educational methods with individual interests, ultimately paving the way for reduced re-offending rates and successful rehabilitation.

Judah's book, Society Driven Design  was published in May and is available from small independent bookshops (and the big, corporate ones too).


About Judah:
 
Judah Armani is an educator, frequent maker and occasional writer.He is a partner at The Royal College of Art where he heads up the Social Impact Studio within the Service Design M.A. programme. He is an visitong professor of Service Design at the Musashino Art College in Tokyo, Japan, and a visiting fellow at the Rhode Island School of Design’s strategic studio; The Center for Complexity in Providence, USA.Judah is also a visiting lecturer at Elisava school of design in Barcelona, Spain and Köln international school of design in Cologne, Germany.Judah is the founder of Public Service Design Practice, co-creating award winning initiatives that have been provid



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

12 Aug 2024Thinking about Inclusive Service Design with Elle Beange from Deloitte Digital00:32:10

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To kick off Service Design YAP's second series  we knew that we needed to tackle a heavy weight issue. Having collaborated with the UK charity Scope, and Deloitte Digital earlier in the year we knew that Inclusive Design would be a great topic to focus on.

In this episode we talk with Deloitte's Elle Beange, who has worked in the area of inclusive  and accessible design for all of her career.  We talk about the difference between universal design and inclusive design and Elle provides some great examples of companies walking the walk when it comes to inclusive design.

We also talk about designing a more inclusive hiring approach for designers. How can we assure equity in the interview process and what tactics can employers put into play to assure that everyone gets the opportunity to shine?


Further Reading

Microsoft's Inclusive Design site is a fantastic resource if you're looking to learn more about the subject.

The Purple Pound: Scope's article about understanding the value of  customers with disabilities.

The Navilens project: Enabling  blind and partially sighted people through tech.

Global Disability Innovation Hub: Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) is an Academic Research and Practice Centre accelerating disability innovation for a more just world.

The Newman Holiday Trust: One of Elle's favourite jobs, the trust provides children with disabilities with unforgettable holidays.

Its not that Radical, by Mikaela Loach looking at what real climate activism needs to look like today.

99% Invisible podcast episode about curb cuts and disability activism in the US.





Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

02 Sep 2024Exploring the Service Design Global Conference in Helsinki00:11:57

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The Service Design Global Conference (SDGC)  is heading our way at pace and its now only a month until the mass ranks of over 1,000 service designers make their way to Finland for three days talk, studio visits and sauna.

In this bonus episode SDN's David Russo  gives us a guided tour of the venue,  keynote speakers and SDN sauna etiquette (towels on vs. towels off*).

This year SDGC will focus on Designing for Impact: "Strategic Leadership with Service Design”. Focusing on outcomes over output, we use our tools to move the needle for organisations, leading to real, recognised value.

Over the next weeks we'll be launching a series of #SDGC24 bonus episodes to fan the flames of excitement as we ramp up to conference frenzy. 

We look forward to seeing you all in Helsinki.
___________________________________________________________

If you've yet to book your ticket to the conference click here.

Service Design YAP listeners get a 5% discount code.

SDYAPVIRTUAL5

This code works for virtual and in-person tickets. Enter the code as you check out.  A box will appear top right!

Want to win a virtual ticket?  Go to the SDN UK Instagram site and repost your favourite YAP episode to be entered into a draw to win a €350 ticket.  

*Please note the XXXL SDYAP Sauna Towels have now all sold out. 



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

09 Sep 2024Farmer-Centred Design: An award winning project from Hellon00:27:23

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The finalists for the Service Design Global Conference awards have just been announced, so we thought that it would be a good time to catch up with one of last year's award nominees to hear about their project and how they benefited from participating in thew awards.

In this episode we talk to Andy Pattichis  and Pinja Piipponen from  Hellon, the design an innovation consultancy. They tell us about their project  helping farmers navigate the  decisions that balance crop yields and carbon footprints to drive better outcomes for a complex partnership ecosystem.

Andy and Pinja also talk about how participating in the awards has helped them deepen their relationship with their client, the crop nutrition company Yara, whilst also giving them an fantastic case study that's driving new sales with new clients. The project also won a Fast Company Innovation by Design  Award, giving rise to Hellon being hails as the "surprising middle man" of Innovation.

We also spend time discussing which Moomin best represents Service Designers. If you disagree.... and I'm sure that you will, why not try the "Which Moomin Are You" test and post your results to the SDN UK instagram account.

To review and vote on this years SDGC Award nominated project click here. There's a simple log it to keep people honest.

___________________________________________________________

If you've yet to book your ticket to the conference click here.

Service Design YAP listeners get a 5% discount code.

SDYAPVIRTUAL5

This code works for virtual and in-person tickets. Enter the code as you check out.  A box will appear top right!

Want to win a virtual ticket?  Go to the SDN UK Instagram site and repost your favourite YAP episode to be entered into a draw to win a €350 ticket.  



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

17 Sep 2024How should seasoned service designers invest their personal development budgets?00:35:54

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Often as not, we get to the end of the year and find that we haven't used up all, (or any) of our training allowance.   We know that this is doubly true for more experienced hires who want to focus on "craft" rather that those exploring the  "leadership" pathway.  Exciting client work keeps getting in the way, but that's no excuse. 

In this episode we talk with two accredited Master Service Designers, Katie Murrie and Kim Anderson.   Both work as educators at the Service Design Academy in Dundee, Scotland and share their journeys to mastery.  They also talk about the career benefits of accreditation and provide tips for those considering becoming accredited.

Katie and Kim also talk about a spectrum of CPD options for for experienced Service Designers, ranging for Tuscan retreats with the Co-Creation School, through to free and fun design safaris.   

Links to content from this episode.

Find your SDN Accreditation level here....and find out more about the program.
The Co-Creation School
The RNIB conference talk about of inclusive design.

SDGC Tickets

If you've yet to book your ticket to the conference click here. Virtual tickets are still available.

Service Design YAP listeners get a 5% discount code.

SDYAPVIRTUAL5

This code works for virtual and in-person tickets. Enter the code as you check out.  A box will appear top right!

Want to win a virtual ticket?  Go to the SDN UK Instagram site and repost your favourite YAP episode to be entered into a draw to win a €350 ticket.  



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

22 Oct 2024Why magicians make the best designers, with Adrian Westaway, co-founder of Special Projects00:45:40

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Special Projects' co-founder, Adrian Westaway  talks to us about his journey from amateur magician to master designer and how the skills of illusion can be applied to drive better design outcomes.

Design and magic are both human centric disciplines that leverage  psychology to influence behaviours and attitudes; and both benefit from "someone spending more time on something than anybody would reasonably expect". 

We talk about: Adrian's experience at the burlesque experience, Lost Vagueness; about managing creative partnership with your life-partner and talk trough how to create awe when designing experiences.... Could it be magic?  We certainly think so.

About Adrian.

Adrian is an award-winning designer and inventor whose unique approach to design draws on his two biggest passions: magic and technology. Fascinated by the similarities between the two disciplines, he joins them together in products and experiences that have the ability to not only surprise and delight but prompt positive change for individuals and communities.

As co-founder of Special Projects, the London-based design and innovation studio, Adrian leads a team that crafts strategic design visions and reinvents user interactions for forward-thinking global clients. Special Projects blends magic, humanity and technology to transform ordinary interactions into extraordinary experiences. The studio's work spans sectors including consumer goods, technology, AI, automotive and health and wellbeing for clients such as Google, Samsung, BBC, Lego, Sonos and P&G.

A thought leader on design thinking and innovation, Adrian frequently speaks at events for organisations such as Innovate UK, Design Museum and Google Creative Lab and was on the Advisory Panel for the UK Design Innovation Network, helping deliver the UK Government’s innovation strategy.In 2007 Adrian became the first ever James Dyson Fellow, and in 2012 a Fellow of the Royal Commission of 1851. He is also a full member of the Magic Circle.

Links from this episode.

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies.

Its not how good you are, its how good you want to be. By Paul Arden

Anika Yi's great flying sculptures at The Tate Modern

The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design.




Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

12 Nov 2024Meet the Next Generation Service Designers (Recorded Live at SDGC Helsinki).00:43:06

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In this episode we get inspired by 7 incredible next generation Service Designers. We find out about how they view the world of design, where they go to get inspired, them and which emoji or meme best represents their design styles.

Featured in this episode:

Marcela Gómez Abundis
Eva Mega Astria
Jane Tzu-Yuan Chao
Anna Han
Jihee Hwang
Linda Paulauska
Agata Kowalska  


Resources Listed In this Episode.

Marcela's Mega List of Design Resources Notion Page

Userpalooza- A Field Researcher's Guide.

Doug Deets video on Transforming Healthcare.

Fireside chat with Don Norman

Change by Design. Tim Brown

Humans of New York (and other countries)

Jane Jacobs documentary


Dan Hill: Dark Matter and Trojan Horses video

This is Service Design Thinking/Doing 


This episode's interviewers were:
Alice Kennedy
Jean Watanya



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

03 Dec 2024How your design superpowers can spark innovation with Ian Crawford from NatWest Group.00:43:22

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How can you encourage a retail bank, which will always focus on risk management and stability, to innovate?
 
In this episode we talk with Ian Crawford, NatWest Group's Head of Innovation Design. We  explore the ways in which designers are uniquely positioned to help corporate innovation programs to think differently.

Ian shares how his group interviews design candidates to evaluate their innovation mindsets, and talks about the trends that his group believe will reshape retail banking in the future. 

In a conversation that roams from Dieter Rams to Blackadder's Christmas Carol, we explore how you can promote two of your designer superpowers: 

  • Framing and encouraging bolder thinking,  
  • Expert facilitation helping to create consensus and commitment to get great ideas into the real world.  


About Ian

Ian leads an Innovation Design team at NatWest Group as part of a wider department of approximately 70 people in Innovation & Partnerships. The department are responsible for catalysing the creation of brand new services, products and experiences for the wider Group, often leveraging start-ups and other technology partners to bring NatWest’s strategy to life.

He is an award-winning designer with over 15 years of experience across design, digital strategy and marketing and has worked with a wide range of organisations including Lloyds Bank, Amazon, Microsoft, CYBG, Standard Life, the NHS and Scottish Government among many others.



Sources cited in this podcast:


The Innovation Expedition:
The Jobs to be Done Playbook:
When Coffee and Kale Compete: 



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

17 Dec 2024Improv as a Prototype and other tactics designers need to steal from stage-craft, with Adam St John Lawrence01:03:58

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In this festive bonus episode of Service Design YAP, we sit down with Adam St John Lawrence to understand how he uses tactics and techniques from theatre in his design work.

Adam, the goatee sporting GOAT of Service Design, draws on an "eclectic" background that includes farming and psychology (plus some bouncing and stripping), to offer some radical challenges to design’s dusty  “best practices”. 

He a natural raconteur who  tell stories and shares insight that everyone will find funny and enlightening in equal measure.

Enjoy your break, how ever you spend it.

Let us know what you think about the episode on our Insta account ; tell us which podcasts are inspiring you and  who you think  we should interview next.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stickdorn?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

The YAP team will see you in 2025. 

Please note, no rubber chickens were harmed in the making of this episode.

Links from this episode:

https://www.thiagi.com/game-design
https://www.appliedimprovisationnetwork.org/

Adam, Marc StickdornMarkus Hormeß and Jacob Schneider’s book This is Service Design Doing.



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

16 Jan 2025The AI YAP Episode00:14:45

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In this short, bonus edition of YAP we spend time thinking about and playing with AI.

Most designers state that AI will become the most powerful design tool of the decade, enabling them to mine the world's data, to find inspiration and to create better products and services.

Designers who remember sign painters being replaced by naff vinyl sign printing machines see AI as a cut-price competitor rather than a tool.  ( Sign Painters  is a great -if niche- documentary) 

So,  how will the design profession evolve in the face of AI?

In the spirit of exploration we  just asked AI... and we also wondered if we could use AI to create an entire episode of YAP.

We also saw this experiment as a way to find tools that could help designers to build audio mock ups, or provocatypes; thought provoking artefacts that you don't want to spend too much time on, but which land better with the target audience if they have good production quality.   

Let us know what you think of the episode and where you think that designers are under estimating the impact AI in the design process at the moment. 



To create this episode we used:

  • Chat GPT to collate content. The tool gave us deeper case study content, but failed to really bring any new concepts to the table.
  • Jelly Pod structured and create the podcast audio. Jelly Pod's text editor will really help designers looking to create audio provocatypes as its quick and easy to use.  The custom voices also make audio mock ups really compelling.
  • Suno was used to create the new closing music. Its simple and even simple prompts generate quality outputs aligned with expectations.  
  • Adobe Firefly to create the episode cover. This needed the most rework and lags behind tools like Mid-journey.




Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

06 Feb 2025Emergency Service Design: How design is reshaping policing in Scotland with Chris Muir00:48:16

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When the Scotland consolidated its police forces it saw an opportunity to add a Service Design team to the new organisation.  Not only would this team make a material contribution to Police Scotland's radical transformation, they would also become a core part of the force's new ways of working. 

In this episode we're joined my Chris Muir, who tells the story of how he discovered service design and how he and the Police Scotland Service Design team work with officers at every level to discover, design and deliver services that keep people in Scotland safer. 

Chris talks about the benefits of running a design studio in a 14th century castle, once owned by the Blackadder family and of how the design team's six principles helps the to build trust and deliver value through their work. 

We talk about how spending time out on patrol with officers helps Police Scotland's designers to create services that meet the needs of officers whether they're in high population density Glasgow, or in the rural extremes of the Highlands & Islands.


References from this episode. 

Radical Candor. https://amzn.eu/d/h04WOyV
Nine Lies About Work https://amzn.eu/d/7m9vFq2
This is Service Design Doing https://amzn.eu/d/3DCngOv
Beyond Sticky notes: https://amzn.eu/d/j0RFTrH
Good Services https://good.services/home
McDonalds removes AI from their sites https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722gne7qngo#:~:text=McDonald's%20is%20removing%20artificial%20intelligence,orders%2C%20was%20announced%20in%202019.




Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

05 Mar 2025Designing the world's best digital transport experience, with TfL's Hanna Kops00:46:42

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Tubes, trains, boats, trams, bikes, busses and even a cable car combine to make Transport for London (TfL), a system that helps 9 million Londoners and a few tourists navigate the world's greatest city.

Designing the digital tools that help people to turn complex logistics into practical travel plans is no mean feat, but that's exactly what Hanna Kops and her team did with the TfL Go app.    In this episode Hanna tells us the story of how the  TfL Digital Experience team collaborated with a complex matrix of stakeholders and launched an app that's now on every Londoner's phone. 

We also talk about:

  • The formative role that playing games with her family had on Hanna's development as a designer and reflect on how the shift to screen-based play will shape tomorrows designers.
  • How the singleminded pursuit of "scale" often strips the value out of designed experiences.  

If you're curious about the vintage "Mind The Gap" sound bite in this episode and are in the mood for a romantic story, then click here

About Hanna 

Hanna Kops is Head of Experience at TfL Digital.Over the last few years, she co-built TfL Digital, the team behind the TfL Go app and other future digital experiences. TfL Go includes an innovative new approach to digital maps, was shortlisted for a D&AD Award and won multiple industry awards, including BIMA, The Drum and Design Week.Hanna is also a Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art.Before joining Transport for London, Hanna led design teams, innovation projects and culture change for a wide range of organisations in the UK and USA. She also co-founded a design studio.




Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

14 Apr 2025Design's role in transformation programs with Livework's Ben Reason.00:41:26

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Design is often seen as an activity that happens at the front-end of transformation programs, but what if companies adopted a design-led approach to their overarching transformation?

In this episode, we catch up with the legendary Ben Reason, founder of Livework Studio to hear about the firms 6 pillars of design led-transformation, the work that Livework has done with Adidas, TFL, Kone and the NHS (and to get a glimpse into Livework's three, top sectret trophy cabinets).

Check out Ben's article on Design Led Transformation  here. Its a quick read that's packed with insight.

We've adopted a different format for this episode, cutting straight to core topic to give us a shorter, punchier episode.  Let us know how you feel about the new approach. Perhaps you miss the quick fire round? 



 



Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.
Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community.

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