In the analysis striking similarities and differences between cultures have emerged. Based on the outcomes of this study we have jointly developed consumer insights relating to various markets. We have been invited by several large companies (utilities, transport, consumer appliances) to present and discuss opportunities for services innovations that can take inspiration from this.

1. Service design for utilities In close collaboration with the Design Council we worked on...
2. Support services for independent living For a consortium of organisations in The Netherlands (primary health...
3. Follow-up study for T-Mobile Following on a previous study for T-Mobile in April, we...

As the university aims to give the students in the new course an active role in shaping the actual projects they will be working on, it is of course important to put its foot where its mouth is from day one. The envisioned inter-disciplinary, practice-based collaborations with external organisations will be most successful if the students are fully engaged and involved in some of the crucial choices to be made. In the discussion sessions it was clear that the students were pleasantly surprised by this opportunity to co-create their education. To further develop the new master course, the university aims to continue this process of open discussions with students.

Aware that focus groups about future services may trigger general opinions rather than observations based on actual experiences, we prepared a structured process that elicited a mix of individual and group-based responses. Guided by an agenda that explored some of the central aspects of the course, we first triggered the students to individually reflect on a topic by making personal notes, before we opened it up for a lively and highly interactive group discussion.

To ensure clear and effective communication with the students, STBY involved two young journalists from Spunk as co-moderators. Over the past years we have worked with them on various research projects that focused on young people. An enjoyable and high-quality collaboration.

1. Students’ perspective on new university portal Thoughout the development of the new university portal there are...
2. Urban Creatives: young and switched on For Bigga Fish and BANG Radio we set up and...
3. Training in Design Documentaries As part of the Executive Master Course in Information Management...

Although the decision to apply a specific treatment is ultimately made in the operating theatre, the condition that the necessary tools and materials are in stock and close at hand usually depends on a delicate process of planning and negotiation. Since these decisions can be a matter of live and death, hospitals are very keen and experienced in making sure these processes are not muddled by personal hang ups or whims. This obviously makes a lot of sense from the perspective of the patients, and the society as a whole. But the formal procedures do put a strain on the people involved, as they need to integrate the negotiations into their busy jobs and sometimes struggle to get their individual perspective across in the multi-layered organisation.

This project was part of the ongoing collaborative research programme ‘Patient Perspective’, initiated by STBY and Broca & Wernicke in 2009. This most recent study, at the Erasmus Hospital in Rotterdam, was geared towards advising Nycomed on how to evolve their innovation process from mere product development to offering more holistic services to their clients’ organisations, such as supporting various aspects of complex decision making processes. This broader focus would set them up to work more in partnership with hospitals than purely as a supplier of goods. From the perspective of patients this is surely a comforting thought.

1. Creating design briefs on patient dignity The Design Council and the Department of Health in the...
2. Support services for independent living For a consortium of organisations in The Netherlands (primary health...
3. Willem Pijffers Willem is the founder and director of Broca & Wernicke...

A team of researchers from STBY and the Design Council spent 4 days on a ward in a hospital in London. They observed the daily routines, and talked in-depth with patients, staff and visitors. Most of these observations and conversations were recorded through video and photography. The study resulted in 7 edited films, each illustrating a specific design opportunity.

Three other research teams have done related studies in other hospitals. In a joint workshop they all contributed to the overall insights creation that informed the final briefs announced in October 2009.

The national design challenge is an open call for proposals inviting designers to join forces with manufacturers, service providers and specialist contractors to help eliminate mixed sex accommodation and increase patient privacy and dignity in hospitals.

Next to the open challenge the Design Council has also involved some universities and design colleges to work on products, services or systems which can directly or indirectly support Patient Dignity in the delivery of same sex accommodation in NHS hospitals.

1. Services to support complex decision making In collaboration with Broca & Wernicke, STBY investigated the complex...
2. Service design for utilities In close collaboration with the Design Council we worked on...
3. Co-creating education In the early stages of developing a new international master...

In close collaboration with Radarstation, STBY conducted a qualitative consumer research for Sony, exploring opportunities for new service concepts beyond their traditional market. The client team from the Sony Design Center in Tokyo was keen to ascertain how external user research in the early stages of a service design process can guide the identification of user needs and idea generation for new service concepts.

Throughout the process of preparing the research methodology, recruiting the research participants, running the User Lab, clustering the documentation, generating the insights, identifying the opportunities and exploring the concept ideas, we were in close contact with the client team. Every step in the process has been documented and discussed, often through multi-point skype meetings and with excellent mediation by Akemi Tazaki.

For the data collection we used both video (to auto-document personal reflections) and visual probes (to guide conversations in pairs and facilitate ad hoc note taking). We gathered a very rich collection of research materials. These have been shared with the client from an early stage in the project through a bespoke project blog.

Our long history of collaborating with Radarstation enabled us to fully integrate the research and design strands in the project. Using bespoke research materials enabled effective elicitation of consumer insights, and consultation of the consolidated research data catered for the grouding of ideas for new services.

1. Follow-up study for T-Mobile Following on a previous study for T-Mobile in April, we...
2. Future usage of mobile internet services Together with designers of T-Mobile who are working on the...
3. Service design for utilities In close collaboration with the Design Council we worked on...

Bigga Fish is a non-profit youth organisation dedicated at educating inner city youth through music and other creative activities. They aim to focus the energy of urban youth, by offering them knowledge and opportunities to achieve their goals. “‘Our mission is to provide opportunities to young people to fulfill their potential through the medium of their creativity and the creative industries.’”

BANG is also a non-profit organisation, dedicated to providing creative and media training for young people in London. Its aim is to provide an outlet for young people to enjoy themselves, increase their skills and improve their employment prospects. The radio station BANG Radio is one of the leading black and urban music radio stations in the UK.

Bigga Fish and BANG are working together closely on various projects. When they approached STBY for user research to inform the development of a new online platform to support young urban creatives, we suggested to set up an approach that would result in some useful work experience for a selection of young people in their target group. We trained a panel of 5 young researchers in conducting interviews, we coached them while they were out and about speaking to young urban creatives, we showed them how to effectively document the research materials through a blog and a series of templates, and we moderated a joint analysis workshop that drew out the main insights from the study. Throughout this process people from Bigga Fish and BANG were involved as well, in order to experience how user research contributes to the development of strategic thinking and creative concept development for future online services.

1. Students’ perspective on new university portal Thoughout the development of the new university portal there are...
2. Reach partners meeting up Our colleagues and friends from Apogee in Hong Kong, Jo...
3. Creating design briefs on patient dignity The Design Council and the Department of Health in the...

Following on a previous study for T-Mobile in April, we worked with the client team again in June to test the ideas for new mobile internet services that were developed in response to the results of the first exploratory research. The aim of the second, follow-up research project was to explore if the service concepts are indeed attractive and relevant to the lives of a new group of research participants, and also to further elaborate on the service concepts together with the participants.

To visualise and explain the service concepts, a set of experience prototypes was produced by the client team in collaboration with us. During the research sessions in Berlin and London these prototypes were used to discuss the use of the services with the participants, and to invite them to add new elements to the prototypes eleborating on aspects such as context of use, special requirements and potential concerns.

A multi-disciplinary team from T-Mobile was present during the research sessions. This enabled them to hear participants’ responses to the services and to engage with them in conversation, guided by the research team. During analysis the data from both research sessions in Berlin and London was synthesised into an integrated report.

Throughout the project there has been a continuous and close collaboration with the client team. Every step in the research preparations, data collection, analysis and reporting was conducted in as a joint effort. Apart from being very pleasant, this also has had a positive effect on the quality of the process and the final results. We are in the process of writing a joint white paper on the methodology used in the various stages of this research project, with a focus on how films by participants were particularly beneficial as ’sticky information’ that was present from the initial immersion research right into concept development.

The previous exploratory study in April was conducted in collaboration with Spur, our German/Japanese partner in the Reach network. Details about this study can be found on the Reach website. Spur also worked with the client team in Berlin for the development of the new services concepts.

1. Future usage of mobile internet services Together with designers of T-Mobile who are working on the...
2. Support services for independent living For a consortium of organisations in The Netherlands (primary health...
3. Global Design Research network As part of the global design research network Reach we...

Workshop Woonservice Gemeente Geldrop-Mierlo

For a consortium of organisations in the South of the Netherlands (primary health care, housing associations and local government) STBY and Waag Society conducted a study to identify the needs among older people for new services supporting independent living at home.

During an intense week of house visits we met with both older people living in single households, and some of their close friends or relatives who offer support if needed. The conversations about potential needs for more formal support by third parties were guided and facilitated by visual probes we prepared with the design team of Waag Society.

We used both a Social Map and a Home Environment Map to elicit information about participants’ social support network and their favourite locations and objects in their home environment. Any future support services will need to blend in successfully with these existing conditions, otherwise they are not very likely to succeed. And since the social lives and households of the older people and their helpers are quite different, the future services may need to have different appearances/interfaces on both ends.

The maps, together with various photographs and of course our consolidated research notes, were used as input for a workshop with the client team to discuss the insights from the research and to identify the opportunities for new support services. During this workshop an extended client team from several departments took part. For the home visits a core team of two people took turns in being present to observe and learn from the participants first hand.

To enable the client team to communicate the results from the study to other people in their organisations, a small book was made. This book explains and illustrates the process and the results of the study. Together with Waag Society we are currently preparing a workshop to develop concepts, inspired by the home-visits and in response to the opportunities we uncovered. Co-creation wil be our main approach in a second workshop where we will put concepts to older people and their supporters, and ask them to elaborate and give detail. Finally, the most promising concepts will be developed into prototypes as a last step before implementation.

1. Services to support complex decision making In collaboration with Broca & Wernicke, STBY investigated the complex...
2. Charging up around the world How do people around the world charge their mobile devices?...
3. Global Design Research network As part of the global design research network Reach we...

Design Academy

STBY was asked by the Design Academy in Eindhoven to prepare and facilitate a workshop on Design Research. There are several excellent examples of work in this area within the Design Academy, but there seems to be no coherent overview of these activities nor a framework of facilities to support and nurture them. The aim of this workshop was to enable the management team of the Design Academy to develop a strategic vision on what Design Research is and what the position and ambition of the Design Academy is in this area is or should be.

To clarify the definiton, historic background and the current international environment of Design Research, we brought a pile of example publications and summarised some of the key references on Design Research (e.g. Christopher Frayling 1993 and 2007, and Peter Lunenfeld 2003). We then facilitated a discussion among the management team about the current and future ambitions of the Design Academy in this field.

An interesting aspect about Design Research is that it occupies an area between the traditional silos of Science on the one hand and Art & Design on the other. Peter Lunenfeld describes Design Research as “the demilitarised zone” between science and art. Working in this zone offers exciting opportunities to make new connections and develop new discourses. This cross-over also seems to confuse people however, and this regularly forces design researchers to justify their work against more traditional clichés of scientific research and/or autonomous art & design.

The international discussion on Design Research so far has ascertained three main strands of Design Research:
1. Research into design (e.g. historical and aesthetic
studies of art and design).
2. Research through design (e.g. project-based design research, including materials research and development).
3. Research for design / Design as research (e.g. creation of object and systems that display the results of the research and prove its worth).

1. Training in Design Documentaries As part of the Executive Master Course in Information Management...
2. Reach: Global Design Research Network Reach is an network of highly skilled and experienced companies...
3. Global Design Research Being known as a world-class specialist in Design Research, many...

Each documentary focused on ways to improve the existing service offering by their organisation. Using video as a their research tool, the students addressed the issue by representing the existing situation and reflecting on potential opportunities for improvement. They used both interviews and performance for this.

The editing of the design documentaries was completed and coached during a 2-day workshop. At the end of this workshop the final results were evaluated by a panel of external examinors, as part of the final course assessment.

1. Urban Creatives: young and switched on For Bigga Fish and BANG Radio we set up and...
2. Creating design briefs on patient dignity The Design Council and the Department of Health in the...
3. Students’ perspective on new university portal Thoughout the development of the new university portal there are...