Marc Fonteijn is a co-founder of 31Volts in Utrecht, The Netherlands. 31Volts is a service design agency specialising in design-driven innovation. Marc has a background in software engineering and found his way into service design 5 years ago. Apparently he has a fondness for donuts and wireless digital rabbits (well, that’s what Google Translate says). Marc’s a great guy and I really enjoyed our chat.
How did you start in service design?
It was serendipitous. About 5 years ago I met 31Volts co-found Marcel (a product designer) in the office building where we both worked. We collaborated on a concept project together and we really enjoyed it. We then stumbled on service design and noticed that the process was similar to what we were both used to. We loved the idea that design could be applied to intangible things. This lead to 31Volts (”31″ is the international calling code for the Netherlands).
What was your first service design project?
We responded to a request for quote from the Chamber of Commerce. Five big consultancies pitched for the project – and we won the pitch! 31volts was only 3 months old so it was a great boost to us.
The project focused on finding out what new entrepreneurs needed as they started their business. The Chamber realised they were facing a lot of competition (from other organisations and the internet) to provide assistance and information to entrepreneurs. They started to wonder “do we really know what entrepreneurs need?” So we used cultural probes to help get insight into what entrepreneurs really needed. We gave diaries to 20 – 30 people for a month. We designed the themes and questions and and tried to encourage people to reflect on their needs and behaviours. We also ran co-design sessions with entrepreneurs and The Chamber of Commerce stakeholders in early 2007.
What have been some of your favourite SD projects so far
In the last 3 years we’ve done a lot of projects. We recently finished a project for the Minsitry for Infrastructure that we are really proud of. The Ministry is realising that people need more than just roads. They wanted to know what future services could the Ministry project to people that travel instead of just making new roads. We ended up developing 18 concepts. For example one of the concepts was around helping people to find a meeting spot so they don’t have to travel all across the country to meet. This means less travel time and less people on the roads. The concepts were clustered and analysed into 5 service scenarios. 1 or 2 of these will be converted into pilots in early 2010. Our client was really pleased with the outcomes of the project and actually presented with us at Dutch Design Week 2 weeks ago.
Another one of my favourite projects was the Pleasant Platforms project for ProRail (a Dutch Railway organisation). The organisation wanted to know “how can we create a pleasant platform?” Normally they would just hire an architect to design the platform so it looks nice. But we helped them to get an insight into what a pleasant platform could be. We used a range of tools such as customer service journey maps, video interviews, observation and prototypes. While it was no surprise that waiting on a platform was a big issue for travelers, one of the most interesting insights was that as long as travelers were not standing still they didn’t consider themselves to be waiting. This led us to consider ways for people to not be passive on the platform so they don’t consider it waiting.
Our work with GG & GD Utrecht (difficult to translate, but a type of Dutch Utrect Health Association) was also really fun. The project aimed to find ways of promoting a healthy lifestyle for young people. Usually this kind of problem was “solved” around a boardroom table with a handful of business stakeholders. But when 31Volts joined the project we said “let’s ask the kids!” So we went to 4 public schools and talked to 16 years old. We video interviewed them and held a big codesign workshop with the kids and stakeholders from the organisation. During the workshop the stakeholders realised they had relied on a lot of assumptions and they could now see the reality!
What are the biggest challenges in SD projects?
The first steps of a service design project are fun – gathering insights, creating concepts, sharing ideas. Then something has to be done to implement the results of the project. This implementation means change for the organisation and this is often very challenging. Unfortunately this can sometimes be a breaking point for some service design projects.
Also, explaining the value of service design to clients can be challenging. When we are selling service design the outcome is unclear. This is not a challenge unique to serivce design – all design industries have the same challenge. For example, at the beginning of a graphic design project, no one knows what the outcome is going to look like. But this is more accepted in graphic design. It is more of a challenge for service design because of a lack of successful implementation – but this is changing. So at the initiation stage of a service design project all we can say to a client is that “it will be something good!” and the client needs faith in the project and the service designers.
What would be your ideal service design project?
It wouldn’t be just one! I really enjoy helping product-oriented companies to transform into service-oriented companies. I also like projects that focus on enhancing the customer experience, especially for healthcare or hospitals. These kinds of services need to be functional but should also result in happy clients!
How do you explain your job to your friends?
It depends on my mood! I’ll usually say “I design services” and then people look confused. It’s the same as explaining web design in 1995. Eventually service design will become more familiar to people.
What advice would you give anyone interested in working as a service designer?
Don’t quit! Persist. You need to be a marathon runner – not a sprinter. It will take time, so don’t give up. Strive to do something remarkable – do stuff that really matters. Try to make a difference.
Suze’s note: The links in this post point to 31 Volt’s website which is in Dutch. You can translate the pages using Google Translate.
Thanks Suze (and Marc)! This is a great insight into service design for beginners like me! Would be fantastic to see a couple more perspectives from other service design practitioners.