Steve Selzer

Last year saw the continued rise of the “on-demand economy”, and with it the promise of convenience, ease, and a life free of friction. In the decade ahead we’ll witness the growth of automation — from Amazon’s warehouses to Uber’s self-driving vehicles — and for many of us this life of convenience will increasingly become the norm.

But this article isn’t about removing friction; I’m here to urge us all to design it back in.

As a designer I’ve spent the last decade translating human needs and desires into experiences that fulfill them, and I’m convinced : the human-centered design process demands more than just empathy with others; it requires a deep understanding of our own selves.

Practitioners of human-centered design focus on the importance of empathizing with others and removing our own bias when evaluating their needs. After all, we often find ourselves designing for people who are quite different from… Show more

As a designer I’ve spent the last decade translating human needs and desires into experiences that fulfill them, and I’m convinced : the human-centered design process demands more than just empathy with others; it requires a deep understanding of our own selves.

Practitioners of human-centered design focus on the importance of empathizing with others and removing our own bias when evaluating their needs. After all, we often find ourselves designing for people who are quite different from us, with different needs, desires, and underlying value systems. Show less

The best gift I’ve ever given was a 1940s Parker 51 fountain pen. It was a birthday present to my best friend Taylor, a PhD student with a professorial look — round tortoise shell spectacles, elbow-patched blazer, leather briefcase and loafers. The pen not only rounds out his look, it’s one of his favorite gifts of all time.

I haven’t always been a great “gifter.” For years I’d struggled to give great gifts because I was paralyzed by indecision, constraints, or lack of… Show more

The best gift I’ve ever given was a 1940s Parker 51 fountain pen. It was a birthday present to my best friend Taylor, a PhD student with a professorial look — round tortoise shell spectacles, elbow-patched blazer, leather briefcase and loafers. The pen not only rounds out his look, it’s one of his favorite gifts of all time.

I haven’t always been a great “gifter.” For years I’d struggled to give great gifts because I was paralyzed by indecision, constraints, or lack of inspiration — until I discovered five principles to guide me. Follow all five principles and you’ll give the perfect gift. But there’s just one absolutely essential principle that you have to follow to give a great gift, and it turns out it’s also the easiest. Show less

The past decade has been witness to incremental development
within the emerging practice of service design, as indicated
by an increase in the number of service design organisations
and academic programs around the world. As the practice
grows, however, so has the desire to investigate fundamental
questions. Many have weighed in on the emergent discussions,
with varying points of view, on such questions as: who is
a service designer? How is service design different… Show more

The past decade has been witness to incremental development
within the emerging practice of service design, as indicated
by an increase in the number of service design organisations
and academic programs around the world. As the practice
grows, however, so has the desire to investigate fundamental
questions. Many have weighed in on the emergent discussions,
with varying points of view, on such questions as: who is
a service designer? How is service design different from
interaction design or other design practices? What are the core
competencies of service designers?

To effectively prepare service designers, it is essential that educators and practitioners reach a shared understanding of
these fundamental components. There is a need to further systematise, connect and establish a consistent curriculum
about the ‘what’ and ‘why’ in addition to the ‘how’ of the practice. Both industry and academia are grappling with creating appropriate courses of study for the practice, with attempts to determine and collect the body of knowledge for preparation of practitioners. By
reflecting on our experience in teaching two courses of Designing for Service in the Autumn of 2009 at Carnegie Mellon University, we hope to contribute to the conversation. In sharing our conceptual
framework, goals, structure and By Renna Al-Yassini, Miso Kim and Steve Selzer outcomes of our curriculum, we attempt to explain why the marriage of design theory and practice was especially helpful in teaching students to design for service. Show less