Mapping Experiences: Design Research & Service Design

Just before the holiday break, my colleague JooYoung Oh (Senior Consumer Insights Analyst at Ziba) and I conducted a workshop with Stanford students, friends and alumni at the renowned dschool. Here, students of any major can come to learn and infuse their studies with design thinking, methodologies and approaches.

This workshop on designing human-centered health concepts was the latest in a diverse program facilitated by directors and senior designers from Ziba that has recently included Harvard and Yale. These sessions help to introduce the latest methodologies and insights from design practice into the educational sphere, and generate dialogue between industry and academia.

JooYoung kicked things off with an exploration of participatory design research. Teams compared different ways of defining, segmenting and interviewing consumers and generating qualitative insights based on personal experiences and emotional journeys through health, sickness and recovery.

I then provided challenging questions and insightful opportunities and constraints based on major shifts in the healthcare industry. These generated new service experience concepts to improve the health of individuals and communities by boosting resilience, reducing isolation and focusing on preventative healthcare services, technologies and trends.

We had a fantastic turnout, and some great thinking and ideas emerged!