There are two figures who I love to call the mothers of Service Design.

Lynn Shostack

The first “mother of Service Design” is Lynn Shostack. The term Service Design was coined by her in 1982.

Back then, the idea was mostly limited to marketing departments. I admit I wanted to know a bit more about Lynn Shostack as she is, in a way, the mother of the field I’m so passionate about. But, I couldn’t find much online. What I do know is that she has worked mainly in the field of banking with a focus on marketing and that I’m thankful to her to have coined the name of the discipline that is both my passion and job today.

Birgit Mager

The second “mother of Service Design” is Birgit Mager. She is the President of the Global Service Design Network and a Service Design Professor at KISD in Germany. As you’ll discover a little later, the Service Design Network is an organization promoting Service Design around the world, bringing practitioners together. By being the president of this network, Birgit is in a way the mother of Service Design today, since she takes care that the field can grow and become independent.