In Between Design Thinking And Design Doing
A few years ago, one of my best friends bought me a poster. It arrived in a large envelope, folded up into quarters. As I pulled it out, I could see that one side was blank white and, as my fingertips soon discovered, the other side was covered in a thick carbon film. It was impossible to remove […]
Hypothesis Journey Maps: Necessary AND Dangerous
I recently received this question from a reader in the UK: Which is more effective, creating journey maps based on actual customer stories or creating journey maps based on stories created (imagined) by employees? That’s a great question. But it’s actually not a matter of which one is more effective. In fact, both types of […]
How To Choose A Persona For Your Journey Map
In a recent post, I tackled the common question of which journey(s) an organization should map. But equally important is the question of which persona should be associated with that map. Before I go any further, let me make this point clear: EVERY JOURNEY MAP NEEDS AN ASSOCIATED PERSONA. Why is this? Quite simply, different […]
Customer Experience & Service Design: Let’s Be BFFs
For the better part of a decade, I’ve had courtside seats to the evolution of two interrelated disciplines: customer experience and service design. From my vantage point as a both a designer and industry analyst, I’ve seen the potential for these fields to complement, learn, and benefit from each other. A Natural Partnership The two […]
Big Promises, Small Promises: Can Your Organization Keep Both?
JetBlue built its brand on being a different kind of airline. At a time when other US-based airlines were cutting leg room, eliminating meals, and charging for bags, JetBlue gave flyers room to stretch, provided free yummy snacks, and resisted financial pressure to nickel and dime its customers with fees. The airline seemed to know […]
Call for Entries! Service Design Award 2017
For the past two years, I’ve participated as a member of the jury for the Service Design Award, presented by the Service Design Network. In this role, I’ve gotten to review inspiring design work from around the globe. This year, I’m honored to serve as the head of the jury. Here’s a bit more about […]
How To Map Long, Amorphous Journeys
In my last post, I mentioned that some of my early journey mapping clients were investment firms that wanted to map journeys like “saving for retirement” or “building financial wealth.” These journeys were of obvious importance to my clients: By understanding customers’ mindsets and needs along the way, they could help them save more and […]
Which Customer Journeys Should You Map?
Where should you start your journey mapping efforts? If you don’t know the answer, you’re not alone. Many aspiring journey mappers feel overwhelmed because they believe that they need to map every single interaction that their customers could possibly have with their organization—a daunting task, indeed! I can’t say you should never map the full […]
New Customer Experience Workshops Announced!
I’m excited to announce two additions to our 2017 workshop lineup! NEW! Brand Experience Please contact us to schedule your private workshop. We’ve taken the best of our Designing Brand Experiences consulting offering and compressed it into a one-day workshop. In this interactive workshop, we’ll help you examine your organization’s brand from the outside in […]
Want To Sell Service Design? Get A Trojan Horse
I’ve been a fan of service design since my introduction to it in grad school —and an active champion of the discipline since my initial involvement with the Service Design Network back in 2010. In fact, I’ve spent a significant amount effort over the past five years helping companies understand what service design is and […]
