Has the practice of developing public services changed? The experience of cities and countries shows that some shifts in practices can be observed. Until recently, public services have been developed predominantly according to the stay-in-your-box principle. This means that the prevailing practice of developing services in the public sector has every authority (office, department etc.) develop its services specifically from its own viewpoint, without considering its tie-in with other public se..

Extensive impact of the IT sector

The service sector is largely affected by the continuing development in the IT sector as more and more new interfaces are emerging. They have not yet developed in a number of sectors, but we can say that there is a definite growth trend in that sphere. Banking will probably move over to the web, the number of offices will keep declining until there will be none left. A rapid development of online and mobile banking will occur. These services will be designed st..

Service Design Magazine highlights fresh, global phenomena related to the outcomes of service design, city planning, drama and interaction studies, and futures research.

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Service Design: On the Evolution of Design Expertise describes the developments and changes in Estonian and Finnish design competences since the 1960s and analyses how service design has emerged as a field of its own. The book presents research results of ServiceD, a three-year servi..

Changing values refer to slow global socio-cultural change from traditional values, collectivism, and religion towards individualism, liberal values, experience orientation, and secularism. Individualisation is a global phenomenon. From the service designers’ perspective, individualisation is visible in the gradual dissolution of traditional segments, as customers are increasingly expecing individual and unique products and services:

Things should be more personal. The “Me” has to make a differ..

Cloud has been used as a metaphor for the Internet. Cloud computing has been used as a metaphor for a technological paradigm shift in the way how we run and utilize software and information on the internet.

Software ranging from spreadsheets to online collaboration environments are moving from single workstations and servers to a geographically distributed platform on the web. What we are talking about here is a digital rainforest build by clever tech wizards from the depths of companies like A..

The book ”Hyvinvointipalvelut 2.0” will be published at the OLO.MUOTO’10 event. It is a part of Lahti University of Applied Sciences publications series. The book discusses what the future of welfare services could be, what kind of people face these services and how services developers and service designers could be educated. The book examines how to approach services through innovation and creativity point of view and on the other hand, what is the designer's role in service design and visual..

Service design is growing in importance, especially in multidisciplinary schools. In Lahti University of Applied Sciences (LUAS) service design education has a major role. Visions and pedagogy are based on transformation from traditional, problem-based learning to opportunity-centred learning. In praxis, this means new kinds of learning environments that enable testing and prototyping new ideas, future-oriented thinking, grasping new phenomena, and ideation. Service thinking is embedded into e..

Visionary Bruno Munari wrote already 1960^th:  “Today it has become necessary to demolish the myth of the ‘star’ artist who only produces masterpieces for a small group of ultra-intelligent people. It must be understood that as long as art stands aside from problems of life it will only interest a very few people.” [1]

It seems to us that ‘star’ designer is living well in 2010^th. Wow architecture gathers attention and many designers still act (and are treated) like stars. The spirit of public ..

Many small useful ideas grow from the local community. The local community is the first to notice and experience at the grassroots level what is needed.

One of such local initiatives advanced by the association of a Tallinn city district was setting up information and notice boards in the public space. The money for the production of the notice boards was available. There were also resourceful people present willing to deal with it. Yet, the red tape necessary for setting up 12 notice boards to..

“Unless we invent a better future, we won’t have one of any kind”
–Arthur C. Clarke

Ideation and concept design are key elements of service design. In the current socio-cultural and financial environment new ideas and concepts are the most valuable immaterial assets (alongside competences and brands).

Many are willing to traverse the realm of blue ocean strategies – and it is easy to believe that new ideas and concepts are being created with little or no hindrance and child-like enthusiasm. How..