The "service design ecosystem of Switzerland" idea was among the first on our initial whiteboard of ideas here at SDN Switzerland. Now in this time of social distancing, the best thing we can do is come together virtually. So we dusted off our previous efforts, added new research and content, and created the first edition of this ecosystem map. Then we published, got feedback, and iterated to created this current second edition!

Our goals:

• to know who is who
• have a quick glance of maturity
• facilitate cooperation
• and spread the news about service design.

Not sure what service design is? Admitted, it is not easy to define - find one definition here.

This is an iterative approach - updates are coming, and we are counting on you too! If you have suggestions, or know other players we have missed, let us know by sending us a mail. See a short description of companies and organizations below the image.

Agencies

Here we listed big agencies focused primarily on service design, and also big full-service agencies who have service design as one of their main offerings.

enigma

First and foremost a marketing and communications agency, this multi-city team has a strong end-to-end approach. This also involves, among many other elements, service design. They define themselves as a team of strategists, designers, branding specialists, business model experts and service designers.

Experientia

One of the original gangsters of service design, experientia is an international agency, with Swiss offices in Lausanne and Basel. They define themselves as a UX research and service design agency, so service design is not just one service among many, but core to their operations.

Fjord

One of the large global service design agencies, Fjord is present in the Swiss market with an office in Zurich. As part of the large consultancy Accenture, they not just participate in, but shape the entire industry.

gyselroth

Gyselroth sees itself as offing a unique connection between branding and technology. Among these two extremes, they count service design as one of their 6 main services. Their view is that with many similar products on the markets, the service factor increasingly plays a key role regarding the positioning strategy.

Isobar

Previously 'Blue Infinity', they are a local arm of a multinational full service digital agency network. They fit service design under their Business Transformation practice, and handle it together with experience design. With a large development team, their focus is mostly on digital aspects, and are well-equipped to implement even the largest of projects.

Liip

This multi-city agency works according to a holacratic organisation model, which means that they focus on self-organisation and collaboration. Also, Liip belongs entirely to its 'Liipers'. They are a digital-focused agency spanning strategy, design and development. Web development and mobile apps are their strengths, but they also have dedicated service designers in the team.

Namics

Namics is a full-service Swiss digital agency, present in multiple countries, approaches service design from a corporat digitalization perspective. They focus on internal ternaformation, as well as client-facing. From service refraing to proof-of-concept, they are well equipped to handle even the largest of projects.

Sketchin

Proudly representing the Italian region of Switzerland, Sketchin has expanded to other countries as well. They are a full service agency, with experience- and service design at the top of their service portfolio, who are not shy about technology either.

 

 

Studios & consultants

This category includes smaller teams, specialized studios and consultants.

Atfront

Primarily a consulting agency, Atfront focuses on research, ideation, prototypes and trainings. They created a process they call lean service design (LSD), which is a lean, purpose driven, scaled thinking approach to creating services.

co-co-co

The name co-co-co stands for co-thinking, co-creating, co-acting. They are a small team focusing on workshops and facilitation, and service design is one of their many expertise.

gotomo

Based in Zurich, gotomo's trinity of services is UX, mobile marketing and service design. They see service design as an interface between business, marketing, design, technology, and a customer perspective.

positive.design

Focusing on strategic design, this studio uses research, strategy, UX/UI design and coaching to deliver 'products and service users will love'. Service design and its toolset sit right in the middle of its services.

holistique.design

Positioned as an 'unconsultant', this studio stays with projects from discovery to implementation, ensuring details do not get lost in the last mile. Focus is on research, strategy, service design and UX. They also organize events regularly, and are part of the Swiss SDN core team.

IN.flow

The focus here is on 'humane organizations', with work defined as being at the intersection of change management and 'service design thinking'. They put big emphasis on organizational design and facilitation. They sometimes organize industry-specific events.

Lucid

Positioned at the intersection of art, technology, architecture and design, Lucid is an office for collective curiosity. Service design is one of many approaches they use in their projects.

reverse

A spin-off and partner of Impact Hub, reverse is an interdisciplinary design agency which builds products, services and immersive experiences. Their focus is on sprints, service design, and exploration, aiming to identify the real customer needs. They are part of the Swiss SDN core team.

Servicedesigner

User research and experience design are in the focus in this junior freelance practice. Innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit come into play as much as industrial design and service design.

Solanki

Solanki develops sustainable customer experience strategies and service innovation. Their goal is that extraordinary customer experiences become the norm, and to to expand the customer awareness in organizations.

Usus

Usus puts digital transformation at the forefront. Their focus is on product and service systems, process optimization, communications and branding. They deliver all this through service design.

 

 

 

 

Non-explicit providers

This group of companies does not explicitly mention service design as one of their services, but their capabilities closely align with the domain.

Greenliff

A rather full service agency, Greenliff consists of strategists, designers and engineers, and run by the motto 'designing the digital future'. While they do not call out 'service design' on their website, nor have any dedicated service designers in the team, the combination innovation and experience design makes them fit to handle this domain.

Howard

This small agency claims a beginners mind to find creative solutions, the skills to make them happen and the business experience to succeed. While they do not call out service design as a competence, their positioning and experience includes many of its tools.

Innovento

Innovento puts emphasis on exploration, ideation and validation, bringing together design thinking and service design. While service design is not an actively communicated service, they do claim expertise in the area.

LikeBerry

Delivering human digital solutions, LikeBerry focuses most heavily on healthcare. Their scope and tools overlap greatly with service design, even though they do now specifically call it out.

Nothing

They define themselves as a 'peer to peer organisation', where the crew collaboratively take decisions and empower each other. They aim to build a 'more humane future', putting compassion (e.g. through accessibility) front and center.

Primarily a digital product agency, their approach, as well as their work in organizational design definitely merits them a place on this list.

Prophet

A large independent global consultancy for brand and marketing related topics in the digital world, Prophet is present in Zurich. They see themselves as a team of thinkers, makers and doers. While SD is not specifically mentioned on their website, nor do they have dedicated service designers, the combination of innovation, design and customer experience makes them a good fit.

PwC

‘Experience consulting' sits inside this global consultancy’s ‘digital service’ department. Not explicitly service design, but broad set of offerings and their dedicated Experience Center space puts them close to the domain.

Schindler Creations

A bit of an outlier, as they put heavy focus not just on user experience, but also industrial design. Many of their projects involve hardware elements, so they look at usability from a wider standpoint. While service design is not an explicit offering of theirs, they use its toolbox extensively, and mention the domain in some publications.

Shift

Shift claims to help organizations align with new realities. Their services include business design and customer experience and organization activation. Not explicitly active in service design, they nevertheless claim expertise in the area.

Telono

Telono has practiced UX design since it was called human-computer interactions. They deliver strategic human-centered design for your digital products and services, and have an in-house research lab. They are part of the Swiss SDN core team.

Whispers and Giants

This strategic design consultancy aims at no less than societal and organizational transformation. Relying on field research and foresight, they use design framework to help my client explore the world, imagine positive futures.

Whitespace

 

One of the few organisations based in francophone Switzerland, Whitespace focuses on enterprise applications. They believe the same attention that goes into consumer products and services should also find its way into into the workings of large organisations. They combine UX expertise with service design and digital transformation consulting.

 

 

 

Educational Institutions

Here we listed Swiss Universities with service design programs on various levels. As you can't teach service design without actually doing it, a number of these institutions also have labs, open for third party organizations as well.

 

ZHAW / Zurich University of Applied Sciences

ZHAW offers a range of practical training courses that link innovation management and service design for various industries. In addition, the ZHAW Service Lab supports companies in improving customer experiences and ensures that new service offerings are consistently tailored to customer needs.

CAS Service Design & Innovation

CAS Financial Service Design

CAS Innovation, Customer Experience Management und Service Design

Service Lab

 

HES-SO VALAIS-WALLIS / University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland

Within the framework of the bachelor's degree in tourism, students develop concrete projects to get people all over the world excited about tourism in the Valais. The Service Design Lab - equipped with a laboratory and a theatre - allows service designers to recreate service experiences of all kinds.

Service Design

Service Design Lab

 

HSLU / Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Lucerne School of Art and Design

The Master Service Design sees itself as a "real world laboratory" in which students, together with partners from the practice, develop their projects in a real context in order to meet the increasingly complex world and the change towards a service and information society with human-centred solutions. HSLU - Design & Art is a founding member of the SDN Swiss Chapter.

Master Service Design

 

FHGR / University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons

With the Service Design Major, FHGR offers a practice-oriented and broadly based course of study that is geared towards the creation and optimisation of innovative services. The Service Innovation Lab (SIL) has the perfect tools to help companies to deal with product and service innovations and thus prepare for the future.

Bachelor of Science FHGR in Tourismus Major Service Design

Service Innovation Lab

 

 

 

Uncategorizable

There are teams that you just can not put a label on. They are a bit of this, a bit of that, and somehow this mix forms a coherent offering. Just take a closer look, and you will understand.

InnoArchitects

There is no category for a team that does strategy work, co-creation, teaching, and innovation space rental. And InnoArchitects does all of this. They do single-day trainings, but also CAS programs, have a selection of bookable rooms available, and offer consulting services. 

Launchlabs

Launchlabs is a learning center, a consultancy, and a bookable workspace, all rolled into one. They follow a human-centered, agile, holictic approach, while helping companies transform, training companies how to transform themselves, or just by giving them space to transform on their own.

Sparkworks

Focusing on large organisations, Spark Works enables companies to drive innovation from within. While they use service design practices, it is 'only' a tool to enable innovation. They work with universities in Switzerland and the UK, and fuse academic and industry expertise. What makes them "uncategorizable" is that they also operate the innovation facility Spark Space.

Swiss Innovation Academy

There aren't many structured online courses around service design, but this is one of them. A growing library of video-based learning, books, and resources await you here. But if that's not enough, their creator also does consulting, mainly focused on innovation.