Engine Service Design

Founded in 2000, Engine is one of the world’s leading service design and innovation consultancies. Working out of our London studio, we’re a diverse team of designers, strategists, researchers and visualisers. We work on a wide range of service design projects for some great organisations across the private and public sector.

News & Projects

• SILK: Social Innovation Lab for Kent

For the past year Engine has been working with Kent County Council (KCC) to develop a ‘Social Innovation Lab for Kent’ (or SILK) which will tackle some of the more difficult social issues facing the county through a multidisciplinary design approach.
We have been providing ongoing support in building capacity around design and innovation methods, developing the brand and proposition of this new unit, and have been directly involved in delivering projects aimed at delivering new services to families at risk and fathers in Kent. A series of publications outlining this past year’s work is due to be published later this month. Watch this space.

• Buckinghamshire County Council

Engine has recently published a case study and supporting film on its workfor Buckinghamshire County Council, facilitating the development of a bestpractice methodology for the engagement of local authorities, elected councilmembers and service providers and citizens.

• Heathrow Terminal 5

Recently launched at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, is an Information zone
designed by Engine. For the client's thoughts on the project watch the short
film on Engine’s web site.

• Service Design Methods

Engine’s web site provides descriptions of their favorite service design
methods, ‘from the well known to the slightly more offbeat’. Each of twenty
service design methods listed on the web site tells you ‘what it is’, ‘what you
get’, and ‘when to use it’ with some examples from their cases.

• Other Activities

Engine gave presentations at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction
Design, the Scottish Tourism Customer Service Conference, the Transformational
Government Conference and the Reinventing with Design conference
in Hong Kong. Also, Engine judged both the RSA and D&AD student design
awards and collaborated with Glasgow School of Art on the development of
teaching service design.

Literature

• Journey to the Interface

How public service design can connect users to reform.
This short book co-authored by Engine and the public policy think tank Demos, drawing on over 50 interviews with service innovators from the public, private and voluntary sectors, the book makes the case for a fresh approach to public service reform - an approach that is less about competition and contestability and more about closing the gap between what people want and need, and what service organisations do.

• Design for Service:A Guide to Help SMEs Innovate their Services

Engine has worked with Design Wales and SEEdesign to publish a service design guide aimed at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Design for service offers a framework to help identify areas for improvement and develop a service vision and strategy. It also illustrates how SMEs can innovate their services through three case studies. Download here

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