Abstract
Exemplars play an important role in applied service design but are largely overlooked in academic literature. So far; most design research in other fields has concerned how surface properties of exemplars are incorporated in the current design; but services are different from most other design disciplines in regard to material. To expand the understanding of how exemplars matter to service design; material from recordings and observations of design meetings have been analysed. We observed a pattern that exemplars; in this case; were introduced in communication in the format of micro-narratives that express emotional impact of service elements. This study shows that exemplars in the form of micro-narratives are retrieved in design discourse primarily from gathered data; common reference points; and personal experiences. They contribute to the collective understanding of the service concept and support the alignment of the service offering with customer expectations.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2009.3
Citation
Blomkvist, J.,and Holmlid, S.(2009) Exemplars in Service Design, in Clatworthy, S., Nisula, J.-V., & Holmlid, S. (eds.), ServDes 2009: DeThinking Service; ReThinking Design, 24-26 November, Oslo, Norway. https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2009.3
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Conference Track
Research Papers
Exemplars in Service Design
Exemplars play an important role in applied service design but are largely overlooked in academic literature. So far; most design research in other fields has concerned how surface properties of exemplars are incorporated in the current design; but services are different from most other design disciplines in regard to material. To expand the understanding of how exemplars matter to service design; material from recordings and observations of design meetings have been analysed. We observed a pattern that exemplars; in this case; were introduced in communication in the format of micro-narratives that express emotional impact of service elements. This study shows that exemplars in the form of micro-narratives are retrieved in design discourse primarily from gathered data; common reference points; and personal experiences. They contribute to the collective understanding of the service concept and support the alignment of the service offering with customer expectations.