Teaser from the interview with Alex Webb Allen
We had only just arrived at Dott 07 Festival and had a short look around, when we got to know Alex Webb Allen from live|work, probably the first service design consultancy to actually use the term “service design” for what they do and how they do it. He was willing to give us an interview and answer a few questions about service design in general, give us some insights into the work of live|work and tell us about the Low Carb Lane project they had launched in the event of Dott 07.
I’m still working on transcribing the interview, but I’ll let you read a short snippet to tease you a little.
Q: You said, you hate explaining what service design is.
A: Oh, it’s a nightmare.
Q: Do you have any props or something to help you explain to your potential clients what service design is?
A: Well, I tend to refer to things like public transport or mobile phone use. The mobile phone is just a thing, but it’s a service that you experience. Whether you get a contract or pay as you go, how your service works … People go: “Ah, I see, what you mean.”
But it is very difficult. We still struggle to really communicate not just service design in general, but actually communicating very clearly what it is we offer, our service design offer. So, in a way, it’s difficult to practise what we preach.
We tell clients of ours: “You need to get your service offer really clear and you need to communicate it very well.” I think, service designers could do that much better than we do already.
That’s quite a brave thing to admit as a service designer. But it really does seem to be a problem for service design agencies to find a way to easily explain what service design is, what their specific approach is and how one can benefit from it. And it’s not only about explaining but about creating and enthusiasm for service design, about really making you want to go on the service design journey with them.
So, check back later for more insights into the work of service designer Alex Webb Allen.
Oktober 19th, 2007 20:09
I am glad you have brought to light Alex’s comment on the difficulties of explaining service design, the approaches and the benefits.
In essence, this is my PhD research!
As mentioned, design in untraditional areas is my keen interest, and will always grapple with issues such as these.
ps. I am blogging daily events happening at the festival as well, especially debriefs of the Dott Debates.