The Idea Lab

Sometimes service designers poke at new ideas by asking user groups about their lifestyles, beliefs and trends. These can turn out well, but there are other sources for ideas. Yet when it comes to finding out how users are getting along with a service experience,...

Despite the gee-wiz techno gadgets and social media, Robert J. Gordon, a renown economic historian, argues that the era of information technology and internet communications has not been sufficiently productive to replace the innovation from industrialization during...

Improving customer service will rescue a failing service, some argue. Not true. Even though this notion fuels an entire industry around customer service, it is not based on solid ground. Friendliness, responsiveness . . . are all problems for HR, not designers....

It is so much easier to dismiss a new idea than explore its merit. Many organizations are risk-adverse and executives simply find it easier to say “no” to avoid disruption. That thinking, however, results in missed opportunities. Quickly evaluating new ideas helps...

Myth busting: Satisfying disgruntled users doesn’t always lead to loyalists.

Its plainly impractical to exceed user expectations, it sets up providers for failure when their services can no longer meet user expectations.

For years Capital One has been attempting to transfer its consumer banking services to digital user experiences.  Its latest move has been to open several Capital One Cafés, part WeWork concept and part Starbucks concept, without the look and feel of a traditional...

As Dorian moves its way up the U.S. coast, I’m reminded of our prototyping exercises for FEMA, our crisis communications team hunkered down for two weeks, devising plans for how FEMA would respond and operate its communications for future disasters