Recommended books
Service Design: From Insight to Implementation
Andy Polaine , Lavrans Løvlie and Ben Reason
This is a classic. With Ben Reason (one of the founders of Livework, the first Service Design consultancy in Europe) and Andy Polaine (former Group Design Director at Fjord), this book is an excellent introduction to service design methods and tools. Good case studies. Textbook in many universities.
Orchestrating experiences
Chris Risdon and Patrick Quattlebaum
A straightforward narrative can help you understand the link between CX and Service Design. It has a fascinating book structure that allows you to use it as a reference manual or deep dive into a topic. Highly recommended
Good Services: How to Design Services that Work
I am a declared fanboy of Lou. She created a service design flavour that fits the government funding model and led a complete transformation in government entities' design work.
The Experience Economy
Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore
It is an inspiring book that outlines the transformation the service industry is going through. It uses theatre metaphors to explain the economic value of experiences. It has one of the best definitions of experience I am aware of:
An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage and goods as props to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event
Their original article at HBR is an excellent introduction to the book concepts.
Just enough research
While this isn't a book about service design, I am confident to say that good research is one of the most important aspects of designing services. It's not only about asking more and better questions but thinking critically about the answers. This book is a practical guide on using different methods of research.
Subject to Change: Creating Great Products and Services for an Uncertain World.
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