Role 3: The Creator
Based on my consulting and teaching experience, service designers perform seven critical roles on complex, multi-faceted innovation projects: The Empathizer, The Sensemaker, The Creator, The Maker, The Navigator, The Storyteller, and The Servant Leader (Bau, 2013, 2020). For the sake of brevity, each role is explained using three capabilities. For each capability, the service designer carries out specific activities, applies specific methods and tools, and makes specific deliverables/assets.
Let’s take a deep dive into the role of The Creator
Three core capabilities to build and master:
Generating ideas and designing concepts for behavior change
Generating ideas and designing concepts for tools, products, and services (to get the job done)
Screening and assessing ideas and concepts for desirability, feasibility, viability, sustainability, differentiation, etc.
Six valuable toolkits to dip into:
Format: Author(s) > Project phase(s)
LUMA Workplace (2020) > Making + Understanding
IDEO (2020) > Ideation
Gray et al. (2010) > Games for Opening/Exploring/Closing
Kumar (2013) > Explore Concepts + Frame Solutions
Stickdorn et al. (2018) > Ideation
Hines & Bishop (2015) > Forecasting
Eight useful methods and tools to apply (not exhaustive by any means):
How Might We
Creative Matrix
Alterative Worlds
Round Robin
Octopus Clustering
Concept-Linking Map
Storyboarding
Impact & Effort Matrix
References
Bau, R. (2013, October). What it takes to become a superb service designer. SX 2013 [Adaptive Path’s Service Experience conference], San Francisco, CA.
Bau, R. (2020). Service design to the rescue. The critical roles service designers play in organizational change. Touchpoint, 11(3), 74–79.
Gray et al. (2010). Gamestorming. A playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and changemakers. O’Reilly Media.
Hines, A. & Bishop, P. (2015). Thinking about the future. Guidelines for strategic foresight (2nd ed.). Hinesight.
IDEO. (2020). Design Kit.
Kumar, V. (2012). 101 design methods: A structured approach for driving innovation in your organization. Wiley.
LUMA Workplace. (2020). Methods.
Stickdorn et al. (2018). This is service design doing: Applying service design thinking in the real world. O’Reilly Media.
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