How do I become a service designer?

The bad news: that magic roadmap doesn't exist. The good news is that you can take numerous career paths to the role of service designer. So the chances of going down a "wrong" path are very slim.

The road to becoming a service designer is covered with diverse experiences, skills and backgrounds. In a world where traditional career paths are increasingly giving way to winding journeys, we've collected some inspiring stories from colleagues. They share how they became infected with the service design virus. These testimonials illustrate that there is more than one path to becoming a service designer and that the versatility of backgrounds and experiences actually adds to the richness of our fascinating field.

From HR transformation consultant to service designer

Anouk has a background in psychology and worked for several years for a company that develops software for HR employees. She worked there on change management projects but soon noticed that she wanted to involve end users more closely and felt the need to work bottom-up. She took an online UX course on her own. A colleague informed her about Knight Moves: the type of clients and the co-creative approach immediately appealed to her.

From having his own design studio to becoming a service designer

Jeroen started his journey with an education in product design, where he developed a vague idea about involving users in design, unaware that this would be the starting point for a career in service design. However, he inserted a way station by starting his own design firm, with a focus on aesthetics. After several years, it was time for a new focus and he started as a junior consultant with human-centered design. He eventually found his niche as a service designer, where he can combine several skills.

From a love of the word to a role as service designer

In her communication management course, Jade learned a number of research techniques, such as interviews and focus groups. Little did she know that she would later apply these methodologies frequently in the field of Service Design, until she ended up at Knight Moves for an internship. She finds it crucial to go a step further than doing mere user research. In fact, Jade's true passion lies in facilitating co-creative workshops where plenty of new ideas emerge. She stresses the importance of being able to humble yourself with the customer while still demonstrating sufficient expertise and assessing the behavior of both user and customer, and then adjusting your own behavior and communication accordingly.

It may have already dawned on you that you don't have to have a specific degree to become a service designer. Especially when you combine different backgrounds you get a rich mix of perspectives that lead to innovative and holistic solutions. Nevertheless, we can identify some common skills among our service designers.

Judge your judgment

As a service designer, you work for and with people, so empathy is crucial. You must be able to put yourself in the shoes of the end user. It is important to recognize your own biases and how they can influence your interpretation. This awareness helps you to remain objective and empathetic without imposing your own beliefs. Take the time to really listen to what users are saying. Ask open-ended questions and encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings. This will help you gain deeper insight into their needs and perspectives.

Do you see the big picture

The ability to connect the dots is critical. You must be able to distinguish main and secondary issues, discover patterns and cluster and prioritize information. This is how you know which are the most important problems, needs or opportunities, and then you use these insights to guide your design decisions. By using visual aids, you convey information in an understandable way.

Two ears and 1 mouth

Be the glue

Another important aspect of service design is connecting different silos. You often work with people with different backgrounds and expertise. It starts with communicating transparently and proactively with all actors involved and letting them know what the goal is and how their expertise contributes to the bigger picture. Developing a shared vision and language that all parties understand leads to creating a common purpose that unites everyone and provides direction. Connecting silos is not a one-time task, but an ongoing effort. It requires patience to bridge differences to ultimately achieve holistic design solutions.

With these tips, you can start working today to further develop the basic skills a service designer needs through self-development, training, your current job experience or leisure projects.

• Tip 1: Ask yourself the why question more often in conversations. Delve into your conversation partner's emotions: ask yourself why they feel the way they do. What underlying factors are there that you may not yet understand? This approach will awaken your empathy.

• Tip 2: Bring back your inner child: remember when life was simpler and every problem had a magical solution? Dare to think playfully again. Build that Lego prototype and brainstorm with colored pencils and let your imagination run wild.

• Tip 3: Find out what your interlocutor's needs are with the LSD technique (Listening - Summarizing - Dig deeper). Listen actively, without interruptions or opinions. Summarize what you heard, identifying the core message. Then dig deeper to clarify ambiguities. You can also discover hidden motivations and needs this way.

• Tip 4: Facilitate and encourage open communication. Use icebreakers in workshops or meetings to get off to a relaxed start and find out about expectations. Ensure that diverse voices are heard, for example, by alternating group and individual brainstorming sessions. Also encourage the sharing of ideas without restrictions and end the meeting with a check-out where key lessons are shared.

• Tip 5: Presenting results of a study? Bring them to life with visualizations from an end-user's perspective. Emphasize the joyful and difficult moments and avoid a dry enumeration of facts. Guaranteed that your message will stick and your audience will feel an emotional connection with the end user.