At the heart of the conference lie highly-interactive masterclasses and participative lectures. The masterclasses are three hour workshops to explore and practice latest methodologies and develop new skills. They are led by well-known practitioners and senior-level leaders in their fields. They provide you with a range of proven concepts and useful tools and methodologies. The lectures are more theoretical and future-oriented sessions, imbued with inspiring cases supported with scientific data and research findings. They are given by engaging lecturers; experienced professors from international universities and academies. The lectures are grouped in pairs on the basis of corresponding topics.
NOTE: After purchasing a ticket, we will inventory your masterclass & lectures preferences. Due to maximum capacities, allocation will be based on date of ticket purchase.
Friday, September 16 / Saturday, September 17
Friday, September 16
Masterclass 1 'Shaping social structures' Practitioners looking to develop a more systemic approach to service design Those seeking a theoretical underpinning for how to create long-term systems change Practitioners interested in expanding their practical toolbox to include alternative service design approaches Anyone committed to addressing issues of equity, discrimination and oppression in social systems Key takeaways will include how to: Build awareness of social structures within a given context Intentionally shape social structures toward preferred futures Critically assess the consequences of shaping social structures Scheduled
Josina Vink (AHO, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design)
Description
Social structures are the patterns that guide how we interact and live in society. These norms, rules, roles, values and beliefs are generally taken for granted and invisible. When we are not aware of them, we tend to unconsciously reproduce these hidden patterns. However, intentionally shaping social structures is a powerful transformative force for long-term social systems change.
This masterclass will briefly present the theory around the materiality of these social structures and how to shape them. It will engage participants in hands-on approaches for building awareness of social structures and purposefully shaping these structures toward desired futures.
The session will also highlight the role of social structures in upholding inequity and oppression. By working collectively through a case example, participants will learn about the potential benefits and harms of altering social structures both individually and collectively.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
Friday, September 16, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 2 'Designing ecosystem strategies, with future mobility as the case' Designers who are looking for new systemic design methodologies and tools Senior executives interested in using design to create a more innovative culture Senior managers and lead designers who lead innovation and design teams Attendees who are interested in the future of mobility Key takeaways: The fundamental principles for establishing an ecosystem mindset, enabling short-term action with long-term perspectives Introduction to Manyone's Ecosystem Framework, a diagnostic tool and an actionable approach to change Hands-on experience with Manyone's 'Ecosystem Design Toolkit' as a library of actionable exercises Scheduled
Thomas Weiser (Manyone)
Mads Kunø (Manyone)
Samoa Pfannenstiel (Deutsche Telekom)
Description
The world is changing, the pace is accelerating, and so is the complexity of how we respond to change. The problems and challenges of today are interconnected, making their immediate solutions seem beyond the imaginable. To tackle today's challenges, we need a different mindset – a tangible approach to address the complexity of problems. One way of doing this is by establishing an ecosystem mindset, that will enable short-term action with long-term perspectives and create true value in the long run.
No business or organisation is an island, with either a small or larger part of their activities influenced or even interdependent on other factors and players. Rather than operating as isolated entities, there is value to be found for any business in understanding, leveraging, and reconfiguring internal as well as external connections.
In this masterclass, you will get an overarching introduction to the fundamentals of establishing an ecosystem mindset, as well as hands-on experience with Manyone's 'Ecosystem Design Toolkit' – an approach to designing ecosystem strategies. You'll be introduced to the Ecosystem Framework, a diagnostic tool to assess the current state of a business, and an actionable approach to combine strategy and design, to reveal gaps and potential opportunities for long-term continuous change.
The masterclass introduces a company that, by merging an ecosystem mindset with design, seeks to proactively address and seize the potential of one of our biggest challenges: mobility of the future. Deutsche Telekom will participate as a real-life case, and Samoa Pfannenstiel, Senior Expert Mobility as a Service, will present their ongoing work to create a better and more connected future for mobility. Actual scenarios, presented by the mobility team from Deutsche Telekom, will enable you to turn theory into practice, and learn-by-doing; strategy-led execution.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
Friday, September 16, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 3 'Navigating complexity in organisational transformation' Ensure customer centricity throughout the transformation journey Use verbal and visual storytelling to steer the right transformation conversations and decisions Apply systems thinking to guide different levels of change Scheduled
Jon Rodriguez (Philips)
Iris Roijakkers (Philips)
Piera Mattioli (Philips)
Description
There is a need for a systemic and customer-centric organisational transformation approach from short-term, transactional customer interactions to long-term customer partnerships. Transformation can be defined as a deliberate journey associated with profound and radical change. It positions an organisation to move in an entirely different direction and provides a new level of effectiveness to achieve breakthrough results. Transformation is not an event and is not incremental. But how to get started? And how to navigate complexity?
In this interactive masterclass, we take a service design approach towards organisational transformation. You will explore how to navigate complexity, tackle different levels of change, steer the right conversations and decisions, and ensure customer centricity throughout the entire transformation journey.
Besides applying more traditional service design practices, such as storytelling and customer journey mapping, you will get to know new tools and frameworks relevant to a transformation context. You will go beyond the typical service blueprints, moving from backstage processes and tools to building more foundational enablers for change.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
This hands-on masterclass is for strategists, innovators or service designers working in complex environments and change management who are looking for new tools and approaches - that can be replicated in their own context - to navigate complexity, guide decision-making in organisational transformation and communicate change.
Key takeaways will include how to:
Friday, September 16, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 4 'Finding the smallest possible changes' Find and fix structural problems that require reading the 'deep structures' of design that may not be visible in traditional maps and blueprints but are essential for detailing touchpoints and interactions Resolve gaps and conflicts in designs by analysing dependencies and interactions, reciprocities, reliances, claims and assurances within a service sequence to yield major improvements from small, specific changes Raise the bar by lowering the barriers: It is possible to achieve buy-in and consensus among stakeholders by being more inclusive of the power centres. To do that designers must speak their language Scheduled
Majid Iqbal (Structural)
Mikaela De Smedt (Structural)
Federico Gomez (Structural)
Description
This interactive masterclass is in the form of a simulation. The European Commission has funded an inquiry into the structural problems in European airports to avoid future meltdowns like the one at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The inquiry is led by a design council whose members include senior service designers from industry and government, along with strategists, logisticians, lawyers, and accountants. The chairperson of the council is a savvy civil servant who understands the difficulties of attempting big improvements when several stakeholders are involved in serving entire populations. She has asked her team for a post-mortem analysis of the Schiphol case to identify the smallest possible changes that would lead to major improvements.
You will staff this imaginary design council as designers and research analysts. The first hour will be for learning to see the airline customer journey through the lens of contracts and agreements. The council will then try to truly understand the outcomes, implications, promises, windows, payoffs, and pains, from the eyes of airlines, airports, passengers and local authorities. The principle of reciprocity based on mutual understanding, cooperation and trust between all the parties will guide the council. The overarching design objective will be the same as that for the project that the EU actually funded a few years ago: To reduce the time it takes for passengers to go through any European airport.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
This masterclass is for anyone who has responsibility or say in improving the design of a service whether on behalf of customers or service providers. Anyone who has to propose changes that everyone has to get behind but may not because of unintended conflicts or compromises. For service designers, this workshop presents an opportunity to learn a new way to expand the scope and impact of their work. It is also an opportunity to learn the language of strategy, finance, and operations — the power centres in any major enterprise, public or private. This workshop does not cover traditional methods such as customer journey maps or service blueprinting. But it does introduce a new kind of storyboarding that relies on the multidisciplinary techniques of composition and sequencing.
Key takeaways will include how to:
Friday, September 16, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 5 'Service design in the age of crisis' Understand a complex crisis scenario Offer a viable service based on the needs and constraints of communities Adapt and integrate social design methodologies Develop and integrate social design thinking strategies in your own professional ecosystem Scheduled
Jonathan Ventura (Shenkar)
Bori Fehér (MOME)
Description
The last decade has shown us that wicked problems in design are not solely for igniting the imagination of design theoreticians, but they influence our daily reality. Social, professional and ethical responsibilities are coupled with broader issues concerning consumption, sustainability, fair trade, political ideologies, values, and recently – the global COVID pandemic with all its consequences and aftershocks. Furthermore, against the rise of global thinking, ever-evolving technologies and instant data sharing, we find ourselves more connected with local social factors, with our cultures and communities.
There is an evident need to shift from focusing merely on designers’ tasks and methods toward taking a more holistic approach to socially responsible design. Given the challenging economic, political and humanitarian circumstances, extending the use of social design can help restructure services, drive efficiency and assist with the significant challenges communities face. The role of the contemporary designer is not a mere problem-solver but an idea generator, a social mediator and a cultural interpreter. In order to confront the challenges we will face in the near and distant future, we need to hone our skills and re-evaluate the very role of design in society.
Services are at the heart of every local and global part of our current reality. As in other layers of our life, in times of crisis, routine services change, while others need to be re-interpreted or even invented. This innovative masterclass will highlight the links between social and service design. You will start by studying the strategic advantages of working with communities facing unknown changes. Then, you will investigate social design methodologies and tackle two real-life challenges to conclude with ideas for developing viable social and service design solutions.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
This learning activity is for designers and non-designers interested in understanding how to face crises at the strategic level and harnessing the power and potential of communities at the practical, tactical level.
Key takeaways will include how to:
Friday, September 16, 15:00 - 18:00
Lectures 'How to play a regenerative role in contemporary society' It is possible to create new networks between individuals, families and organisations willing and able to support each other and take care of the environment It is possible to create an infrastructure to stimulate and support the birth and life of these new networks of care This infrastructure has at its core a new generation of services based on collaborative interactions and mutual care And finally: what does it mean to stimulate, support and implement networks capable of addressing these new urgent questions? And, at the same time, how can we imagine and implement a new generation of services that operate as infrastructures for these new networks of care? In this lecture, you’ll discuss and find out. Designers who are, or would like to be, part of social and institutional innovation processes Public and private operators who, being involved in social and institutional innovation processes, have discovered the importance of adopting a design approach in their activities Researchers who would like to contribute to the creation of a service design based on the ideas and practices of care, proximity and presence All those who are interested in the role of design in general and service design in particular, in the multiple crises in which we find ourselves Key takeaways: Understand what a 'careless society’ is and what a 'society that cares' could be Learn about the complex relationship between care and proximity and what it means to design for proximity and care Understand how social innovation evolves over time and its convergence with institutional innovation Learn what 'enabling services' are and what they could be Scheduled Designers who want to increase their awareness and reflexivity when approaching complex systems projects Public sector or health service managers that are looking for novel perspectives on designing for health and care ecosystems In general, senior experts that are willing to enrich their view on designing for change Key takeaways: Interpret complex systems and their dynamics Plan for longer term transformational projects Value diversity in its multiple forms and implications Scheduled
In doing so, some questions arise: What does it mean to take care of people in the highly individualised society and hybrid world we find ourselves living in? What does it mean to take care of the planet during continuous and growing environmental catastrophes? Which new perspectives and approaches could help designers to reflect and recognise some of their own biases and constraints and re-orient large care ecosystems? Follow the lectures by two renowned service design researchers and experts, both professors at Politecnico di Milano.
Lecture 1 'Networks of care. A new generation of services'
Lecturer
Ezio Manzini (Politecnico di Milano)
Description
We are going through profound and multiple crises which can be viewed and discussed from different points of view. In this lecture, Ezio will focus on the relationship between the crises, the presence or absence of will and capacity to care, the nature of the services, and the role of design. Looking at things this way, it appears that: (1) contemporary society has become a "careless society". (2) this lack of care (between people and between people and the environment) is one of the reasons that led us to the crisis mentioned above; (3) the diffusion of services in the form that has hitherto been prevalent (i.e. based on the polarisation between passive users and service providers) has played an important role in the construction of the current careless society, and therefore of the crisis that is derived.
Starting from these observations, the lecture adopts and discusses three working hypotheses:
Who may benefit from this lecture?
Friday, September 16, 15:00 - 16:30
Lecture 2 'New lenses for short-sighted service designers'
Lecturer
Daniela Sangiorgi (Politecnico di Milano)
Description
While design is about imagining better futures, the lenses designers have been wearing for their creative work, are now under scrutiny. There is a wide and growing debate on which new perspectives and approaches could help designers to reflect and recognise some of their own biases and constraints. We need new lenses for short-sighted designers.
This lecture uses research projects on mental healthcare as a background to reflect on some of these lenses and how they could inform the development of service design practices. These lenses are ‘multiplicity', ‘equity' and ‘emergence’. 'Multiplicity' will be considered in terms of the interdependence and impact of multiple partners and their logic when aiming for large-scale transformational projects. ‘Equity' is intended as the situated and developing conditions that affect real and effective participation. And ‘emergence' is the long-term creative recombination of resources that can support the regeneration of service ecosystems. The lecture would like to reflect on how the integration of these lenses could contribute to the Service Design Days debate on how to tackle short-termism and create value for the long run.
Who may benefit from this lecture?
Friday, September 16, 16:30 - 18:00
Saturday, September 17
Masterclass 1 'Decision making unravelled' Design practitioners interested in learning and implementing decision making methods in their everyday practice Leaders and facilitators who want to get better at coaching and guiding others Anyone who works within a team and participates in group decision-making processes Key takeaways will include how to: Effectively collaborate and communicate with others Practice making better decisions by considering multiple dimensions Become aware of your and other people’s biases and their role in making decisions Scheduled
Burcu Arsoy (Electrolux)
Vaida Pakulyte (Electrolux)
Description
We make numerous decisions as part of the problem-solving process. The pace of change and growing uncertainty in our world make us think and decide further ahead. We are not hard-wired to crystallize our thoughts in uncertainty, increased complexity, and thinking about long-term effects.
As we struggle to evaluate the potential long-term outcomes and consequences of our decisions, both at an individual and group level, how can we guide ourselves, the people we work with, and organisations to make better decisions without falling into the pitfall of our own biases?
In this interactive masterclass, you will be introduced to various aspects of decision-making, work with hands-on group exercises based on multiple cases and reflect on the process and the impact at an individual, team, and organisational level. The toolbox you will practise with applies to decision-making in your personal and professional contexts.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
Saturday, September 17, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 2 'Designing worlds to come with the thing from the future' An approach to exploring many different kinds of possibility spaces Experience with practical tools of ideation, foresight, and storytelling A social encounter with other participants that allows us to get to know each other and hopefully learn something useful through play Scheduled
Stuart Candy (Situation Lab)
Ceda Verbakel (EPAM Continuum)
Description
With accelerating change and increasing uncertainty, the well-being and resilience of organisations, communities, and individuals depend on our ability to think differently, deeply and diversely about the issues affecting our lives. Combining design and futures thinking can help us explore what possible futures might look and feel like, supporting strategy, innovation, and decision-making capacity in the present.
Join this highly interactive masterclass to learn a new way to scaffold creative exploration, rapidly develop artefacts from the future, and explore potential shifts around the issues you care most about. In addition to introducing the vibrant and fast-moving landscape of experiential futures practice (design fiction, speculative and critical design, etc), this session will dive into the gentle art of hacking the ‘source code’ of imagination.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
This session is for anyone interested in offering more, and more effective, support for long-term thinking and discursive intervention using design. You do not have to be an expert in futures/foresight, speculative/critical design, or design fiction to get something out of it, but it will be most relevant to designers seeking to expand their process and methods repertoire.
Key takeaways:
Saturday, September 17, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 3 'From collection of buildings to collective of services' Designers wanting to expand their work context toward urban questions and the built environment Professionals working with communities Professionals shaping touchpoints in the urban environment Key takeaways will include how to: Know and apply tools of urban experience design Expand your mindset from individual services/products to service ecologies Understand your role and position in the urban service ecology Understand the potential for design in urban developments Scheduled
Alexandra Coutsoucos (Livework)
Tobias Löhe (Livework)
Description
The greatest challenges of our century (climate change, the pandemic, imminent war) are making us radically reconsider the way we have been conducting life and business so far. Many of our social, economic and environmental paradigms are deeply challenged by the need to move towards a regeneration of our living system, prompting us to create room for new connections and for new orders to be established.
As hostesses to more than half of the world population and rising, cities have a significant role and responsibility in this transition. In order to move towards caring, resilient and regenerative cities, we must rethink and evolve our approach to urban development and transformation. In this masterclass, you will immerse yourself in the practice of urban experience design. You will be introduced to the approach of Spatial Service Planning as a way to relate stakeholder journeys in the built environment and connect them across touchpoints from tangible to abstract toward a coherent service strategy. You will explore your position in this urban service ecology and understand the importance of a collective engagement in urban development.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
Saturday, September 17, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 4 'Standing the test of time: lessons in reinvention' Everyone aiming to create lasting change (e.g., designers, change managers, researchers, business analysts) Service designers that are bored of the same old playbook Anyone that feels a bit stuck and wants to shake things up Key takeaways: A simple framework to demystify service design Practical methods to create alignment, foster innovation and engage a variety of stakeholders Inspiring ways to inject some creativity and fun into service design Motivation to tackle big, messy problems and have a real impact Scheduled
Blaise Galinier (BBC)
Rahma Mohamed (BBC)
Jess Judge (BBC)
Description
In times of change, it is difficult to design services beyond the here and now. How do you create value for users over years or even decades? It requires a slower kind of thinking, clear purpose and a capacity to adapt. As service designers, we can help companies step into a future beyond short-term roadmaps, sprints and real-time analytics with the right tools.
The BBC is turning 100 this year. It has done so by constantly reinventing itself throughout cultural revolutions, technological breakthroughs and even a World War. What is its secret recipe? How will it stay relevant for another century? What can service designers learn from such an enduring legacy?
This masterclass will introduce participants to the BBC’s foundational Service Design Framework before diving into a series of practical applications of in-house service design methods. All are inspired by the BBC’s amazingly diverse content. From enthralling dramas to trusted news reports, and avant-garde electronic music to children’s TV, there are surprising service design lessons in the most unlikely places! Learn to use celebrity guests, quality BBC storytelling, British humour and maybe even a royal appearance to your advantage...
The masterclass is accessible without any pre-conceptions of service design and suitable for non-design professionals, with dedicated time for questions and discussion between exercises.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
Saturday, September 17, 15:00 - 18:00
Masterclass 5 'Designing solutions for the edge case' Design practitioners interested in addressing access, resilience, choice, wellbeing, prosperity, safety, health, equity or transformation for their users Product designers that want to pioneer new ways of working to design and scale products and services that put people first Key takeaways will include how to: Remain cognisant of opportunities and obstacles when designing for the edge case New ways of thinking when designing for the next wave of internet users Tools that can be used to design for the edge case Principles to guide design direction when designing for digital confidence Scheduled
Ich Gichuki (IDEO.org)
Celestine Njuguna (IDEO.org)
Description
While most of us design solutions that are accessible to most users, daily, over a million people, largely from emerging markets, and increasingly from rural or remote areas will go online for the first time. They speak multiple languages, but struggle to read or type. For most of these people, their first exposure to the digital world is through their phones.
For someone new to it, technology can be exciting and intimidating. Internet access opens the door to a world of possibility. But before you can enter, there’s a lot you need to know: How to navigate from screen to screen. What’s tappable and what’s not. What all those strange icons mean. How to find search results in a language you can read. How to stay safe. How to even begin.
Together, we can build experiences that work for everyone. Designing for the edge case is designing for digital confidence. It means building technology that’s accessible to everyone, everywhere, every time, regardless of gender, geography, language, device type, or education level. This technology will be accessible to the millions of users who are underserved and hard-to-reach, especially in emerging markets.
In this interactive masterclass, you will be introduced to tools to design for the edge case that help teams empathise and design meaningful and impactful inclusive products and services for the next wave of edge case internet users.
Who may benefit from this masterclass?
Saturday, September 17, 15:00 - 18:00
Lectures 'Shifting mindsets: from disconnect to interconnection and co-creation' Explore and understand complex systems to design more effective interventions Come to grips with the key concepts of systems thinking Understand how to use these concepts in design work Incorporate systemic design methods as a way to foster longer-term thinking and sustainable practices in design projects Anticipate the implications of your innovations before you launch them Scheduled Design practitioners who use co-creation already and want to expand their repertoire as well as designers who have little or no prior experience with co-creative approaches Designers who support their work in the context of images of the future or seek to do so Creatives and designers working with communities and informal groups or members of underserved or disadvantaged groups and those active in emerging markets Key takeaways: You see more options for co-creative processes and have new models to use You know examples of co-creative futures projects of various scopes and scales from around the globe You understand how multi-vocal design processes can be managed equitably You may feel inclined to include yourself in others’ projects more often than include others in your projects Scheduled
Lecture 1 'Systemic design, key concept to design differently'
Lecturer
Kristel Van Ael (University of Antwerp)
Description
Today's social challenges call for holistic approaches capable of interpreting and providing innovative and sustainable scenarios. There is a need for creative and structured design methodologies, which give tools to intervene in contemporary issues and contribute to a positive and meaningful transition.
The systemic design methodology integrates systems thinking and human-centred design and helps to design new relationships between the entities of a system, revealing their hidden relationships and potentials, and facilitating proactive and reinforcing collaboration.
In this lecture, Kristel will explain key concepts in systems thinking to approach future complex scenarios towards this transition and positive change. Case studies will show how this leads to a different approach to client briefings and design interventions with short and long-term impact. Finally, you will spend some time discussing how this can be integrated into the day-to-day practice.
Who may benefit from this lecture?
This lecture is intended for (service) design professionals dealing with wicked organisational and societal problems. Systems thinking knowledge is not necessary but a nice to have to ensure rich discussions.
Key takeaways:
Saturday, September 17, 15:00 - 16:30
Lecture 2 'Challenges and rewards of non-extractive future-oriented co-creation'
Lecturer
Maya Van Leemput (Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts)
Description
Co-creation is a mainstream practice in design today. Participatory design approaches had already existed for over 30 years when the term co-creation itself was coined by professors Prahalad and Ramaswamy in the year 2000. In the past decades, we have used these approaches for designing singular images of the future. But it’s time for a broader scope. This lecture addresses how co-creation can serve more ambitious goals as it does in the participatory futures approach; imagining, exploring, and designing the landscape of possible futures of various scales and scopes.
In this interactive lecture you will understand how the design variables for participatory futures can be relevant to co-creative design. Early forms of the co-creative practices emerged from bottom-up movements, but in many cases co-creation in design today is more extractive. With the use of several examples, Maya will show you how non-extractive co-creation can work.
You will talk about working with heterogenous groups that bring multiple perspectives into play and how you can use social creativity, interweaving the perspectives and identities of those we seek out to take part in our projects and processes to co-create together. You’ll be reminded that keeping the futures open is a collective undertaking.
Who may benefit from this lecture?
Saturday, September 17, 16:30 - 18:00
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