What are the archetypes of service designers?

What are the archetypes of service designers?

In summary

There are many different ways of doing Service Design and different focuses of Service Design. Here are a few of the different types of service designers I've met over the years.

  1. The workshop nerd.

  2. The implementation nerd.

  3. The backstage nerd.

  4. The consultant.

  5. The educator.

  6. The design leader.

The Workshop Nerd

There are service designers who really specialise in workshops.

A lot of the work they do is about bringing people together in workshops and facilitating the work.

Service designers make great workshop facilitators because they understand that the backstage and front-stage people need to work together to create great experiences.

Plus, service designers know that they are not the experts. They need to bring the different stakeholders together to create lovely experiences.

The Implementation Nerd

The implementation service designer is the one who is focused on creating really the services and improving them.

These are often service designers that you will find in-house who is making sure that the company's services continue to evolve in a good way.

The backstage Nerd

The backstage service designer. These are people who are focused on services that are hidden.

These service designers know organisations, businesses and processes really well.

Much of their work is about making work processes easier so that services can be created for other people.

The Consultant

The consulting service designer is one that jumps from project to project to project.

With each project, he might take on a very different role.

In one project, he might be a workshop guy. In another, he might be more focused on the implementation stuff. And in another, more on the backstage stuff.

These service designers usually work in design agencies or big consultancies.

The Educator

The Service Design educator brings Service Design into big organisations.

Sometimes these people are also called design evangelists. Their work is to train, up-skill and set the foundations within organisations so that Service Design can happen.

The Design Leader

And then there are service designers who become design leaders.

These people are managing a big group of designers and other specialists.

Usually, these people have a good level of seniority and switch their careers from "making the things" to " managing the people who make the things".

Q&A: Career in Service Design

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Starting a career in Service Design

  • How can we get more junior Service Design positions?
  • Is it possible for a junior service designer to do freelance work?
  • What’s the best way to gain real-world experience when starting in service design?
  • I’m x years old is it too late to learn service design?
  • What does a junior service designer do?
  • What skills do you need to become a service designer?

Finding a Service Design job

  • Why am I not getting any interviews for service designer jobs?
  • ▶️ Are there enough Service Design jobs out there?
  • How to do networking as a Service Designer?
  • Should I try to find a passion or an ideal job?

Job interview tips for Service Design practitioners

  • ▶️ What are your tips on verbal communication Service Design job interviews?
  • ▶️ What are job interview tips for new Service Designers?

Transitioning to Service Design

  • What is a good background for a service design/strategy consultant?
  • ▶️ How can I use my past career when transitioning to Service Design?
  • ▶️ How can you work in a service design job if you don’t have a service design degree?
  • ▶️ How can I realise that I bring lots of experience when I transition to Service Design?

The different types of service designers

  • What are the archetypes of service designers?
  • Can an introvert thrive as a Service Designer?

Daily Service Design work

  • How to practice and not give up on Service Design?
  • ▶️ How to apply Service Design insights in your daily work
  • ▶️ How to tackle the impostor syndrome?
  • ▶️ How can you show that different backgrounds contribute to the service design work in valid ways?
  • ▶️ How do you best communicate what's the role and what isn't the role of the Service Designer

State of the Service Design job market

  • Where do Service Designers work?
  • ▶️ Service Design in big organizations?
  • Can service designers work from home or remotely?
  • Do people recommend a service design career?
  • Can I work part-time as a service designer?

Career development

  • ▶️ Six Sigma or Service Design certification?
  • ▶️ What are Service Design communities I can join?
  • ▶️ How to grow as a mid-level service designer?
  • What are the most important things to consider when becoming a senior service designer? How can people achieve this goal?
  • ▶️ Can a service designer survive a recession?
  • What are the mental health challenges a service designer will be faced with?