The Ultimate Guide to Service Designer Job Description

Service design is an emerging field that focuses on creating innovative and user-centered services that meet the needs of customers. Service designers work to identify opportunities for improvement in existing services or create new ones from scratch. They use a human-centered approach to understand the needs of customers and design solutions that meet those needs.

If you’re interested in a career in service design, this guide will provide you with all the information you need about the job description, responsibilities, skills, requirements, salary, and alternative jobs in this field.

What is a service designer?

A service designer is a professional who improves the experience of both employees and customers by focusing on direct and indirect interactions between customers and the businesses they purchase products or services from. For example, service designers may seek to improve a customer’s experience by optimising their user experience (UX) on virtual platforms.

Service developers focus on the interaction between a business and its customers, ensuring that the business satisfies customers both before and after their purchases. Service designers plan processes in detail to ensure that their design takes into account the analysis of customer service data and meets all current needs.

Service designers organize three main types of business resources:

• People: refers to anyone who interacts with a business personally, such as employees and customers or those indirectly affected by its processes, such as business partners and investors.
• Processes: refers to procedures conducted by both employees and customers that guide actions such as buying a product or hiring and training new employee.
• Props: refers to the goods and services that a business sells to customers or platforms where the business can interact with customers, such as social media and online shops.

Main Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of a service designer is to create and design innovative services that meet the needs of customers.

They achieve this by following a human-centered design process, which includes the following steps:

1. Research: Conducting user research to understand customer needs and pain points.
2. Ideation: Brainstorming and generating ideas for new services or improvements to existing ones.
3. Prototyping: Creating prototypes to test and refine service concepts.
4. Implementation: Collaborating with stakeholders to implement and launch the final service.

Some specific responsibilities of a service designer include:

• Conducting research to understand customer needs and pain points.
• Creating service concepts and prototypes.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to implement and launch the final service.
• Continuously improving and refining services based on customer feedback.

Skills Required

To be a successful service designer, you need a combination of creative and analytical skills.

Some of the essential skills required for a service designer include:

1. Creativity: The ability to think outside the box and generate innovative ideas.
2. Problem-solving: The ability to identify problems and come up with effective solutions.
3. Communication: The ability to communicate ideas effectively to stakeholders and team members.
4. Collaboration: The ability to work effectively in a team environment and collaborate with stakeholders.
5. User-centered design: The ability to put the needs of customers at the center of the design process.
6. Prototyping: The ability to create prototypes to test and refine service concepts.
7. Project management: The ability to manage projects effectively and meet deadlines.

Requirements

The requirements for a service designer can vary depending on the employer and the specific job.

Some common requirements for a service designer include:

1. Education: A bachelor’s or master’s degree in a relevant field, such as graphic design, product design, or human-computer interaction.
2. Experience: Experience in service design, user experience (UX) design, or a related field is preferred.
3. Portfolio: A strong portfolio of design work that demonstrates creativity and problem-solving skills.
4. Technical skills: Knowledge of design software and tools, such as Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, and InVision.
5. Soft skills: Excellent communication, collaboration, and project management skills.

Salary

The salary of a service designer can vary depending on factors such as experience, location, and the employer. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a service designer in the United States is around $85,000 per year.

Good to Know

These are optional and you don’t need to know everything, they can be learnt as you practice them more and more.

However, if you already have one of them in your pocket, it can greatly help you:

• What is the Agile concept and at least one methodology (Scrum, eXtreme Programming, etc).
• What is Kanban, how to use it and its purpose.
• Operate one of the digital design tools used in the market nowadays, such as Sketch App, Figma, Adobe XD, InVision and Marvel.
• Know methods for mapping the problem, extracting insights and help stakeholders co-create a solution for a problem, such as, Do / Don’t / It is / It isn’t, CSD Matrix, Affinity Mapping, Personas, Jobs to Be Done, Persona Ecosystem, What if. I recommend you to check the Service Design Tools for more on these methods.
• Evangelize the Design mindset.

Alternative Jobs for Service Designers

Service design skills are in high demand, and there are several alternative jobs that service designers can consider.

Some of the alternative jobs for service designers include:

1. UX Designer: A UX designer focuses on designing digital products and experiences that meet the needs of users.
2. Product Designer: A product designer focuses on designing physical or digital products that solve problems and meet user needs.
3. Design Strategist: A design strategist combines design thinking with business strategy to help companies innovate and grow.
4. Customer Experience Designer: A customer experience designer focuses on designing the entire customer journey, from initial contact to post-purchase support.
5. Service Design Consultant: A service design consultant works with companies to design and improve their services, processes, and systems.

FAQs

What is service design?

• Service design is a human-centered approach to creating and improving services that meet the needs of customers.

What does a service design do?

• A service designer is responsible for designing and creating innovative services that meet the needs of customers. This involves conducting research, generating ideas, prototyping, and collaborating with stakeholders to implement and launch the final service.

What are the responsibilities of a service designer?

• The primary responsibility of a service designer is to create and design innovative services that meet the needs of customers. This involves conducting research, generating ideas, prototyping, and collaborating with stakeholders to implement and launch the final service.

What skills are required for a service designer?

• To be a successful service designer, you need a combination of creative and analytical skills, including creativity, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, user-centered design, prototyping, and project management.

What are the 5 aspects of service design?

• There are five individual aspects of Service design and these are stated as below:

1. New or changed service solutions.
2. Service management systems and tools.
3. Technology architectures and management systems.
4. Processes, roles and capabilities.
5. Measurement methods and metrics.

What are the requirements for a service designer?

• The requirements for a service designer can vary depending on the employer and the specific job. Some common requirements include a relevant degree, experience in service design or a related field, a strong portfolio, technical skills, and soft skills such as communication and collaboration.

What is the salary of a service designer?

• The salary of a service designer can vary depending on factors such as experience, location, and the employer. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a service designer in the United States is around $85,000 per year.

What is the difference between UX design and service design?

• While both UX design and service design share the goal of creating better user experiences, UX design focuses on designing digital interfaces or products, while service design takes a broader approach and includes the design of physical and digital services, processes, and systems.

Is service design a skill?

• Service design is a combination of skills and knowledge, including creativity, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, user-centered design, prototyping, and project management. It’s a multidisciplinary field that draws on skills from design, business, and technology, among others. While it’s not a single, standalone skill, it’s a valuable set of skills that can help professionals create and improve services that meet the needs of customers.

Conclusion

Service design is an exciting and rapidly growing field that focuses on creating innovative and user-centered services that meet the needs of customers. If you’re interested in a career in service design, it’s essential to understand the responsibilities, skills, requirements, salary, and alternative jobs in this field.

By developing the necessary skills, gaining relevant experience, and building a strong portfolio, you can position yourself for success in this exciting and rewarding career.