Do the Basic Stuff

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Swiss Innovation Academy

Hi lovely human 👋

Here is the overview of all the new Service Design content I've worked on in the last few days:

3 Service Design Principles:

Basics: Do the Basic Stuff
Ask: Ask Stupidly Naive Questions
Actionnable: Translate it into a business priority

1 Service Design Q&A :

Training locations: What Types of Hotels Do I Like for My Design Trainings?

1 Master Service Design Blog article:

Research Podcast: How can you use a podcast for better design research?

1 Backstage Blog article:

Run: Why running is great for introverts that love learning?

As a bonus you'll also find at the end links to 3 positive news from elsewhere to end on a high note.

Greetings from Basel, Switzerland,

Daniele 🧔🏻‍♂️

p.s. As always, you'll find more details below 👇
for when you have the time to read this newsletter.

Service Design Principles Series

I'm writing the fifth book in the series Service Design Principles, where I explore simple tips, tricks and provocations that can help us make services a little bit less shitty for the people who use them and the planet that hosts them.

An illustration of a waiter bringing a huge light bulb to a customer

Do the Basic Stuff

When it comes to serving others or not killing our earth, there are basic things we can do to make this happen. They're often boring, simple, and proven to work. For example, when serving others, keeping it simply human, does wonders. But we often forget about it and are attracted by the shiny technology. Or, for sustainability, using green energy and turning off lights are basics we still sometimes ignore.

So, it's good to do a basics check now and then. Look if we're still covering the basics in our practice today.

Action question

Where could you integrate a basics check for sustainability and human experience within your work calendar? Is there an annual retreat where you could do this? Or could you just set it once in the next few months to get started?

Daniele's notes

This is the first shitty draft of this principle
This principle might one day make it in the fifth book in the "Service Design Principles" series that explores how to better serve humans and the planet.
If you're curious about service design principles, you can get the four previous books in the series, with proofread principles and less grammatical creativity.
Written with AI help: This principle draft is based on an audio note I took while walking that was transcribed and cleaned using Audiopen.

Share feedback

Other principles I shared this week:

An illustration of a student asking a question to his teacher

Ask Stupidly Naive Questions

In short: Ask how, what, when with a deep sense of curiosity to reveal why things are like this. But avoid asking "why" as it might make people defensive.

Read the full principle

An illustration of a man holding the planet in one hand and business documents in the other.

Translate it into a business priority

In short: The big changes we want to make, like making our services a little bit more lovely for people and planet need to be present where the other business priorities are shown.

Read the full principle

Service Design Q&A

I'm slowly building a library of answers to the most common questions about Service Design. Here are the new ones:

An illustration of a hotel seen from outside

What Types of Hotels Do I Like for My Design Trainings?

In short: I prefer very remote locations like a monastery or a hotel in the city center near a train station.

Read the full Q&A

Master Service Design Blog

As a co-lead for the Master Service Design of the HSLU, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts I help publish articles that show how it is to study there.

How can you use a podcast for better design research?

In this episode of the coaching notes, we interview with my mate Andy Polaine Eva Moreno Castillo, a learner from the Master Eco-Social Design program at HSLU, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on why podcasts can be a great research tool.

Eva shares the journey of starting her podcast “La guilifó”, which serves both as a research tool and a platform to engage people from various fields and from her local community.

In this conversation we explore:

the benefits and challenges of doing research publicly
how it can foster community engagement and enrich the research process.
why podcasting is a great way to get interviews with busy experts
how a podcast can also be motivating tool for shy individuals

If you speak Spanish you can see the evolution of Eva’s project on her website.

A big thank you to Eva for taking the time to share and reflect on her research and podcasting journey with the rest of the design community.

Watch the 18-minutes video

Backstage Blog

I love to explain how I'm building educational content. I'm trying to be as transparent as possible so that it might motivate others to create such content too. These are the latest blog posts I've written:

Why running is great for introverts that love learning?

In this article I share why as an introvert and nerd running works well for me: I can do it alone, without preparation, it's great for learning.

Read full post

Positive news from elsewhere

I’m an optimist and as there is so much bad news out there at the moment, I want at my scale to rebalance things by sharing also some positive news for service owners and creators.

‘World first’ microfibre recycling plant opens: The plant in Bude, Cornwall, is thought to be the first of its kind. The Cleaner Seas Group (CSG) behind it estimate that it could turn 86 tonnes of microfibres into useable materials for construction and packaging annually. (Positive News)
Australia opens up blood donation to everyone: Australia has lifted a long-criticized ban: From now on, people can donate blood regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. What matters is their individual risk behavior—broad exclusions, such as those previously applied to gay or bisexual men, no longer apply. (The Guardian via Good News)
Uzbekistan plans to invest in nature conservation and the green economy: Uzbekistan is launching large-scale tree-planting projects to revitalize the dried-up Aral Sea basin and combat desertification. At the same time, the government is supporting green businesses to build a sustainable economy. The announcements were made on the sidelines of Eco Expo Central Asia 2025. (Euronews via Good News)

If you want more positive news make sure to checkout the website positive.news that offers more in depth articles.