Companies are turning to design to address the opportunities and challenges faced by the shift to a knowledge-based service-centered society.

In the past, services have been consciously designed, but rarely with the participation of designers or transdisciplinary teams. When they have, they’ve looked back toward product design for inspiration. In this course, we will look forward toward designing for service in ways that stimulate senses, connect deeply with people’s lifestyles, emphasize the broader social and cultural context of people’s actions and provide support through a networked service ecology or system of systems.

The course will develop around a main brief centred around a client who will give the students access to its premises. Students will follow a 3 phases process of research to identify the opportunity for the service design or re design. Concept generation and finally evaluation and refinement of the concept. As they progress through the process regular meetings the form of students presentations and Q&A with the clients will be set up.
To complement the practical project a number from 5 to 8 readings are assigned and assed through out the semester.