How can people in the U.S. live a sustainable lifestyle? That’s the question STBY recently tried to answer during a project with the Reach Network commissioned by Panasonic. Any company developing products for the ‘Eco Aware’ has to first gain an understanding of the lifestyles such consumers need. The plurality of approaches and attitudes that invariably exist towards sustainable living complicates the matter of how people react to green products. Exploring these differences allows companies to develop products that more effectively support people’s efforts to live their lives in an environmentally conscious way.

With this in mind, Panasonic asked STBY to design an ethnographic research project that would deliver inspiring insights into sustainable living in the U.S. The approach we took was to create a series of design documentaries, thus providing an empathic link to those people trying to live in a sustainable manner. By visiting a number of such people in their home, we were able to create videos that communicated a range of intimate insights into their lives and opinions, telling their stories in a way that could both inform and inspire.

To add structure to these stories, we worked with Panasonic to develop a number of cultural probes that could be used during our home visits. These prompted the participants into asking questions about what aspects of their lifestyle could be better supported by new products and services, thus throwing more light onto the areas of their lives where innovation was most needed.

A series of workshops held with Panasonic and the Stanford University Design Research Lab meanwhile allowed us to help the company integrate these insights into their concepting processes. One of the main goals for the project was to create research materials with long-term applications – to ensure that the insights we captured could be used and re-used, time and again. This understanding of consumers’ practices and motivations could in addition be applied to the work of a wide range of internal departments at Panasonic, from design teams to business model developers.

Working with our Reach partner, Portigal Consulting, allowed us to conduct this project in San Francisco at relatively short notice, and with no logistic difficulties. This project once again demonstrated the strengths of both the design documentary format, and the Reach network itself; combining the two allows us to quickly and effectively communicate empathic insights from almost anywhere in the world.

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Well-designed, surprising and playful materials can prompt participants to report in more lively and surprising ways than during interviews or focus groups, where they only sit and talk about their experiences. Probe studies provide participants with research materials they actively use for a certain period, and that trigger the recording of experiences during this use (e.g. notes, drawings, photos or audio recordings). For probe studies close collabaration between researchers and designers is crucial. This is an excellent method to actively involve members of design teams in the early explorations of a concept development process.

Diaries offer an excellent opportunity to document activities and experiences that take place on unpredictable moments or in private circumstances. In these situations direct observation is not a feasible option. As the research participants are asked to record their activities and reflections in a diary as soon as possible after they occur, the diaries provide reliable data with minimal intrusion. To optimally engage participants in the process of diary keeping, we have found that an ongoing contact with the researcher and an appealing design of the diaries are of crucial importance.

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Immerse yourself in the service experiences of your customers, identify new opportunities for innovation or discuss your service concept ideas with a sample of lead users.

In a bespoke one- or two-day programme we facilitate a lively encounter between your team and a selection of people from your target group. Through a series of well-prepared interactive assignments the participants explore the current and future service experiences of your customers. Your team will be able to closely observe these experiences and build up a deeper understanding of motivations, barriers and unmet needs by engaging in empathic conversations with your customers.

Our studios in central London and central Amsterdam are perfectly situated to host these Service Experience Labs. In London we are close to Liverpool Street station, so very easy to reach, and in the immediate surrounding of both an upmarket business environment and a buzzing creative area. In Amsterdam we are based at Herengracht, within easy reach from Amsterdam Central Station. Both locations have many buzzing streets and venues around, ideal for service safaris and service prototype testing. Of course we can also facilitate service experience labs with your customers at other locations.

The Service Experience Labs are also suitable for teams that wish to familiarise themselves with the service design approach of engaging with customers in an early stage of innovation projects. In a full-day programme we facilitate an exploration of the essential stages of immersion, insight creation and idea generation. The programme will be customised to fit the objectives and prior knowledge of your team members.

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During the exercises each participant was accompanied by a member of the design research team. In the group discussions afterwards, both the experiences of the participants and the observations by the design researchers were used as input.

The following day we completed the analysis of the results in close collaboration with the design team of T-Mobile. The results of the concept test are used to further improve the concepts so they optimally respond to the perspectives and practices of the (future) users. The results also generated insights on the relations between the individual concepts, and the main underlying motivations and concerns people express in relation their imagined use of mobile internet services.

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