Filed under: service design
…to my little brother, the best brother one could possibly ask for. You’re simply amazing and this post is dedicated to you.
Tonight you are going on an adventure, an adventure so full of opportunity and unknowns I’ll bet it feels scary. You are leaving on a jet plane to go to Germany, arriving to a new life and a new job as a medical physicist. Wow.
I’m so proud of you for making this moment the opportunity that it is. I *think* you might be a grown up now so please remember to set your alarm clock, pack your frisbee and always carry a plectrum.
Up and at ‘em bud. Love your big sister x
Filed under: service design
Last month I took to the stage at Craftscotland’s first conference, Craft Connected to talk to over 70 makers about why I believe Service Design matters to them. Here’s my story…
To put it simply, Service Designers make stuff – we make ideas real. But we do this in a way that is extremely focused on experience – this is the main reason I think Service Design and Craft have a lot to learn from one another.
We make stuff with people rather then for them. And because users / buyers / customers are at the very heart of everything we do, 90% of the time we are making other peoples ideas real rather than our own. We’re really good at putting ourselves in other peoples shoes – we making a living out of empathy! When you combine that with the design process and the making behind our craft you can help big, messy complex services like the NHS improve the service they deliver.
Service Designers don’t design whole services – that would be impossible – our role is to facilitate, inspire, make things real and inspire creativity in other people. That’s why I truly believe the role of a designer is completely changing and moving away from being in the studio to being out there in the world – in your communities helping people imagine solutions.
When YOU as makers look in the mirror do you see someone that offers a service? A service that has been beautifully and brilliantly designed? A service that considers all the touchpoints? The experience of buying the output of your craft?
I don’t think many people in the craft industry do. We don’t usually think about craft as a service. I 100% believe there is a hidden service in every craft. I want us to think about how we can make that work – how we can identify that and bring it to the surface.
Basically, I believe if you are maker you are providing a service.
And it would seem I’m not the only one, Emma from the Collins Gallery reminded us that many of the craft she sells is handed over to a paying customer with no boxes and no label. Just like Mary Portas says in her letter to the UK Handmade Industry - you need to think about the customer experience. You need to think about how you sell what you do, your website, your business card, your business model and YOU because you are the maker and it is ultimately YOU that you are selling. These are tough times and as Mary rightly says you are competing against the luxury goods industry. This is about YOU and the service you offer as a maker!
Always remember, only you have a personal connection to your craft and thats really powerful! Where did you learn your skills? Where did you study? How did you develop your own style? Tell these stories!
You have a distinct technique, skills, a way of thinking and seeing the world that is completely unique to you. This means only you can change the way the rest of the world perceives craft.
I have ideas around how to unlock the hidden service that is inside your craft…the tools that service designers use can help you design a first class service around your craft. For example, use journey mapping to visualise how people buy your product, use personas to understand how different people will perceive your work. But before you do anything else - buy this book.
Snook designed these little post cards for the audience and we have had some interesting results:
And last but not least, be proud to be a maker! Be proud to be a maker in Scotland – make your own future and find the secret service in your craft.
I had a brilliant day at the conference and designing my presentation really made me think. It reminded me that I am a maker and I should never forget that I was trained for four years in making models, sketching and building prototypes of everything from coat hangers and lamp shades. Thank you to everyone who tweeted and asked questions, and special thanks to those of you who sent me personal feedback – you really made me smile…
“I found your presentation so very interesting and it has given me so much to think about. I’m in the midst of re-working my website, new logo, new packaging, looking at new markets etc , but what you said has also made me look at myself more as an ambassador and a persona for the business – thank-you.”
“I would like to thank you for delivering such a thought provoking talk – and just as importantly making us laugh – at last weekend’s Craft Connected Conference. You have now converted me to reading your blog. I was so impressed with your enthusiasm and practicality – combined in such a unique way. We also use lots of Lego at work; in fact that is what we brought back as the staff present instead of the usual sweets and biscuits from a recent trip to Denmark.Keep wearing the tartan tights – great idea!” Mary, Co-chair of Craft Scotland
You can read more about the day from the folks at Craft Scotland here:
“Emma Walker, craftscotland CEO, kicked off proceedings with a clear message that well worn craft debates were off the table for the day.
Professor Mike Press ably took the helm as Chair, steering delegates into exploring how craft is connected: connected internationally, connected culturally, connected with industry and new audience, with public services, community initiatives and the wider society.
Garth Johnson travelled from California to speak to the assembled. His blog Extreme Craft is ‘a compendium of craft masquerading as art, art masquerading as craft’. It was along these themes that Garth broadened the audience’s minds to the full spectrum of craft. Garth passionately called everyone to action ‘I want everyone to become a craft activist’ – are you ready to join him?
Tom Hopkins Gibson spoke about his professional journey as a maker. He highlighted the importance of connecting and reinvesting in the local community, as well as the difficulties of balancing success, citing the old adage ‘be careful what you wish for’.
Practical presentations followed from Rebecca Davis, Audience Development Officer at craftscotland and Laura Hamilton, Curator at the Collins Gallery and the conference partner. Rebecca spoke about how to connect with craftscotland. Laura Hamilton gave some sage advice on how to connect with curators, highlighting issues such installation and packaging. Her key points were to ensure effective communication and clarity from the outset.
The afternoon’s provocations explored craft’s role in community engagement. Josiah Lockhart, General Manager of the Grassmarket Community Project engaged all with how his project utilises craft to empower individuals. Muriel Murray, from Castletown Heritage Society, spoke about how they use craft to engage the community in preserving their heritage and the transference of skills.
After the selection of inspiring presentations and a rousing call to action from Mike on the impetus behind the Craft Manifesto and The Change Makers, the room locked into discussion and debate on the areas that should be included within the Manifesto. If you would like to contribute ideas or vote on proposal’s for the Craft Manifesto please visit the Making Manifesto site or request to join the Change Makers facebook group.
You can read Mike’s reflection’s from Craft Connected on his blog and see a selection of Snook and craftscotland’s photos from the day on Flickr.“
At the start of the year ( through the phenomenon that is Global Service Jam ) I met an awesome lady called Kirsty Burnham. This week has been a rollercoaster of happenings for Kirsty – who is the founder of SoLoCo!!
I was at the recent launch of Scottish based project - the first ever dedicated crowdfunding website for the Third Sector – and its founders want it to revolutionise how projects are funded in the UK.
“We believe SoLoCo can help revolutionise the future of funding in the UK. We want to make it easier to raise funds, and in time make it easier for organisations to be become less reliant on the ‘traditional’ funding bodies. We also want to help improve the visibility of our communities and all the amazing work happening on the ground every day. Crowdfunding has already made a huge difference to the arts, music and even, Obama’s political campaign – now we want it to change communities.”
The SoLoCo launch comes as the Third Sector faces an increasingly tough financial climate, battling reduced income from statutory funding against increased demand for services in some areas.
Six projects across Scotland have already signed up on the SoLoCo website to crowdfund for donations, worth a total value of £124,976. These include:
// The launch of a new Scottish online newspaper, the scottishtimes.com
// Scotland’s first Digital FABlab based at Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture,The Lighthouse, Glasgow
// Renovation of Glencanisp Walled Garden by The Assynt Foundation to create a local enterprise
// Crowdfunding for audio-visual equipment for the hugely successful Youth Football Scotland project
// A multimedia project at Duns Youth Centre in the Borders, to help young people develop skills in film-making & radio production
// A community café Punjab’n De Rasoi in Leith, Edinburgh is crowdfunding to employ its long time volunteer chefs and waitresses.
“The ‘virtual doors’ are now open for projects across the UK to start their own crowdfunding campaign through the SoLoCo site, giving them access directly to the public, a wider network than they have already, and without having to organise any sponsorship activities.
Our project base is across Scotland at present but our doors are very much open to projects across the UK.”
The idea is that a project uploads its crowdfunding campaigns to the SoLoCo website in a few easy steps. They then have 60 days in which to fundraise, with a heavy focus on social media. Projects reaching their target keep all the money, while those who don’t, keep the money raised and can use it to apply for match funding.
Successful crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter in America have seen hundreds of thousands raised for arts projects. Obama used crowdfunding to contribute to his election campaign. And a most recently in the UK, Brewdog, successfully launched its second Equity for Punks crowdfunding campaign, after the first one proved such a success…I am watching this space!
Massive congratulations to Kirsty and her team and three cheers for ThirdSectorLab and Crancomms who have been working their magic behind the scenes!
Filed under: people I like, reading and writing, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
The idea for Community Lover’s Guide to the Universe was conceived in Rotterdam in April 2011 by Tessy Britton and Maurice Specht.
Following the fantastic response to the collaborative book Hand Made (40,000 online readers), which was published in Autumn 2010, the idea evolved that they might be able to start producing local versions of Hand Made.
Since announcing the project in June 2011 the team have 20 confirmed voluntary editors and another 10 or so in discussion. Their ambition is to publish about 50 editions in the next 12 months!
Tessy explains:
A few weeks ago Maurice Specht turned to me on the way to Schiphol airport and said ‘So when are we going to bring out a Hand Made for Rotterdam?’.
What a brilliant suggestion!
Since then the idea has really taken off with 12 community enthusiasts already volunteering to edit special local editions – collectively now called the Community Lover’s Guide To The Universe. Since we brought out Hand Made last August the number of people-led projects has continued to grow and we wanted to explore both the common themes, but also the unique cultural ideas and interpretations from all parts of the world.
We also wanted to start to show how places that are buzzing with community activity and projects are amazing places to live, increasingly more amazing than places with cool architecture or luxury shops. Community brings places alive, gives us new and interesting ways to contribute and connect … and there are signs already that people are finding places that have this creativity and excitement going on highly desirable.
Community can’t be mass produced and it can’t be ‘delivered’. But in rising numbers there are a lot of very excitable people just getting on and making and shaping their local communities for themselves. This series of books will create the opportunity for them to tell their stories, which in turn we hope will encourage other people to put aside any hesitations they might have and get more involved in their neighbourhoods.
So I have a brilliant excuse to get oot and aboot in Glasgae and meet all you community evangelists and capture your stories. Who should I talk to? Where should I go? Who do you think should be in the Community Lover’s Guide to Glasgow?
Filed under: made me think, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
Andrea Peach, a lecturer and craft historian at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, is writing an academic paper entitled “Contemporary Craft and the Commodification of National Identity in Scotland after 1970“. Her research is mostly based on craft and craft policy in the 1970s, but she is trying to draw some contemporary parallels. Andrea was in the audience at my recent keynote at Craft Connected where there was a little burst of chatter in the audience about how creative Scots use their Scottish identity as part of thier brand. James Donald and I were eager to let the audience know that we are both very proud of our roots and see travelling away from home as a great excuse to show off our tartan. This snap ( although slightly resembling a girl band album cover – not intentional ;) below was taken by Adam Lawrence in Berlin and Snook are very proud of it!
“It was also interesting to note at a recent Craftscotland conference, titled Craft Connected that contemporary makers were not ashamed to rely on Scottish tropes to generate interest. James Donald, a weaver and one the makers who will be represented at the Craftscotland launch in America, said that he always wears his kilt when promoting his work abroad, and Lauren Currie, Director of the Scottish service design consultancy Snook , said that she is happy to wear her tartan tights when promoting Scottish design.”
Andrea has asked to interview me about the relationship between my work and the notions of ‘Scottishness’ and frankly I can’t wait!
Oh, and here is a translation of the title: “Here’s tae us ; wha’s like us? dam few – and they’re a’ deid! ” = “Here’s to us! Who is as good as us? Damn few and they are all dead”
What are the connections between your roots and your work? and thank you to the beautiful blog that is Scouts Honor for the photograph.
Filed under: made me think, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design
Three years ago today I was teaching first year design students at The University of Dundee. Those students are now going into fourth year. I am delighted that many of them have kept in touch and one young lady, Fiona Harper, popped into Snook for lunch this week to pick our brains about her dissertation topic: empathy!
Fiona would like to know about he best example of empathy tools you have used or seen? Fiona is keen to talk to non-designers too so all of you reading who work in governments, schools and charities – tell Fi what you think!
Filed under: design studies, design thinking, made me think, master of design, people I like, Red Jotter Work, service design, servicedesign
All around the UK, Universities are welcoming their first year students through their doors – bright eyed, bushy tailed and facing a lifetime of debt, Mike Press is one of those chaps who sees it has his mission to fill them with passion and self-belief. He asked me to make a little video to give the students one piece of advice.
Here’s what you guys came up with…
What would your advice be?
