Abstract
Any conversation for designing for the future of product design will include a
discussion on the importance of service design. In undergraduate education, students are
becoming increasingly aware of the diminishing prospects for employment making
physical products; and at the same time are looking towards the service economy as
their future employers. Service lead industries have natural synergies with product
design, drawing on methods and processes for user insights including, experience
prototyping, usability evaluation and implementation.
In September 2006 the authors presented a paper on the story of an industry led service
design project for two product design programs in Scotland [1]. The brief provided an
open-ended approach for students to design for services with wide-ranging solutions
involving helping hands, community chests and a wandering hamster. Almost
immediately following presentation and publication of this paper, the project was
revisited and more clearly focused around the issues of providing financial services.
Having developed through this second year of the project we were able to analyse the
educational impact of industry leading education with some surprising results that show
students challenging and inspiring both industry and educators a-like. We will reflect on
the impact of viral learning across institutions and program development through
industry’s active engagement with product design education. At the heart of our paper
is a discussion of the service design industry and its relationship to product design
education.
discussion on the importance of service design. In undergraduate education, students are
becoming increasingly aware of the diminishing prospects for employment making
physical products; and at the same time are looking towards the service economy as
their future employers. Service lead industries have natural synergies with product
design, drawing on methods and processes for user insights including, experience
prototyping, usability evaluation and implementation.
In September 2006 the authors presented a paper on the story of an industry led service
design project for two product design programs in Scotland [1]. The brief provided an
open-ended approach for students to design for services with wide-ranging solutions
involving helping hands, community chests and a wandering hamster. Almost
immediately following presentation and publication of this paper, the project was
revisited and more clearly focused around the issues of providing financial services.
Having developed through this second year of the project we were able to analyse the
educational impact of industry leading education with some surprising results that show
students challenging and inspiring both industry and educators a-like. We will reflect on
the impact of viral learning across institutions and program development through
industry’s active engagement with product design education. At the heart of our paper
is a discussion of the service design industry and its relationship to product design
education.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 13 Sept 2007 |
| Event | 9th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education: Shaping the Future - E and PDE 2007 - Newcastle, United Kingdom Duration: 13 Sept 2007 → 14 Sept 2007 |
Conference
| Conference | 9th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education: Shaping the Future - E and PDE 2007 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Newcastle |
| Period | 13/09/07 → 14/09/07 |
Keywords
- self service
- service design
- interaction design
- product design