Service Innovation & Design

  • The Journey to Innovation

    ’’Creative confidence’’ was published in 2013 by the founders of d.school – David and Tom Kelley. I first encountered the book when I was doing a post-graduate course at HPI School of Design Thinking at Potsdam, where being curious and living in the moment were highly appreciated as a part of the mindset of innovation.…

  • Nudging: The Story of How Men Stopped Peeing on Themselves

    Did you know that a person’s satisfaction can be observed from the way they are standing? Behavioural scientist Pelle Guldborg Hansen tells us that you can. If a person is standing on their dominant foot and resting the other one, they are happy. If they are annoyed they tend to sway. Hansen’s research helps companies…

  • Finding my inner designer

    I started my studies in Service Design this autumn 2017 and Design Thinking was the very first course I took part in. As there was the word “design” in the course title I was a bit worried about my capabilities to succeed in this. These worries became a reality soon as the course started and…

  • Idiosyncrasy of Design Thinking

    Taking part in an introductory Design Thinking (DT) jam, having few years of hands-on experience in the field, called for adopting beginner’s mindset. Looking, often on a meta level, for small nuggets of wisdom – not surprisingly brought extra value to the process. Being able to share some of the best design practices and to facilitate…

  • From a need to a service – design thinking methods at work

    As the very first course at Laurea, Katja Tschimmel and Sanna Marttila introduced both the Finnish Service Design and English Service Innovation and Design groups into the secrets of design thinking. My expectation for the course was nothing less than to be able to switch myself into some sort of design thinking mode. That turned out…

  • How might We…

    …Study at Laurea? The swift deep dive into Design Thinking with Katja Tschimmel also marked the start of the Master Degree Programme in Service Innovation and Design. I was happy to discover during these two days, that the theory behind Design Thinking can provide the Tools will enable me to take a more professional and…

  • Finding Creative Confidence

    For me creativity has quite a long time meant being good at drawing, painting or writing poems. My confidence in my own creativity has not been too strong. I started my studies a few weeks ago in SID programme. After the first workshop, I pondered my choice to apply to Laurea and the process that…

  • The City Shaped by People – accessible services for everyone

    How to design accessible and safer services and environments? What kind of role design can have when thinking about global challenges? Can wellbeing be designed? Equality and Parity Promoted by Design panel discussion at the Helsinki City Hall on 13 September. The panel discussion was a part of the Helsinki Design Week’s City Shaped by…

  • Can a lawyer learn Design Thinking? The lawyer: “Hold my beer.”

    I have never seen myself as having anything to do with design. Me, a public sector senior manager with a law degree, who loves books and exercise – doesn’t really scream design, does it? What I do have is an open mind, which is why I found myself being a fresh Laurea SID student receiving my…

  • What is design thinking and why is it important to your business?

      Design thinking is a creative problem solving and innovation process that makes change possible. Instead of FOR users, this human centered approach designs services and products WITH users. The systematic process of using design thinking tools for innovation creates competitive advantage –  a good reason to every business manager to adopt it to their…