Hand-in-hand with the maturation of service design as a practice has been the growth of in-house service design roles. While the pioneering early work of service designers often took place in an agency context, more and more, organisations are choosing to build internal capabilities rather than rely on outside expertise and support.

This shift in the centre of gravity of our practice has resulted in some of today’s best work being produced by in-house teams. At this year’s SDN Awards, both professional category prizes — ‘Commercial’ and ‘Non-Profit’ — were won by in-house teams: Absa Bank (South Africa) and the Ministry of Manpower (Singapore), respectively.

In-house service designers operate as integral parts of their respective organisations, carrying a deep understanding of their cultures, processes and long-term goals, and enabling them to craft appropriate solutions. On the other hand, the external or agency service designer brings a fresh, outsider perspective, drawing on broad industry experience and specialised expertise. While the in-house role typically excels in creating sustained impact and cross-organisational collaboration, external service designers are often better-placed to deliver rapid, high-quality outputs, but may lack the deep organisational insights necessary for successful implementation or long-term integration.

In this issue of Touchpoint, we take an in-depth look at the in-house role. And not for the first time! Just over nine years ago, Vol. 7 No. 2 of this journal looked at in-house service design, demonstrating that the trend is nothing new.

Whether you’re an agency-side service designer contemplating a move in-house, or you’re working in-house and looking for inspiration from peers across our industry, I hope you find compelling insights in the pages ahead.

Read the full issue in our page

Editorial board:

Jesse Grimes

I am a senior-level independent service designer, Senior Vice President of the SDN, and Editor-in-Chief of the SDN journal Touchpoint. I regularly host and speak at Dutch and international SD events. My professional website is

Jamin Hegeman is a seasoned design leader with more than 25 years of experience leading cross-functional teams, driving business transformation and advancing design maturity in consumer, B2B and enterprise contexts.

Markus Hohl is Design Lead for Renewable Energy at BP where he and his team design omnichannel services and build digital products for wind farms. Markus has been working in design for over 20 years.

Robert Bau is a Swedish innovation and design leader with deep expertise in service innovation, service design and UX strategy. Having lived and worked in five countries on two continents, he brings cross-cultural sensitivity and a global mindset to the table.

Gretchen Kish, founder of Climate Innovation Project, is a service designer and sustainability strategist. She leads organisations through transformational change using systems thinking, sustainability strategy, collaboration, workshops and evidence-based solutions.

Andrea McNett is a Design Lead at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. She is passionate about the impact small teams can have on big organisations.