Since 2015 the Service Design Network is official partner of Cumulus!

Some of you might ask – who is Cumulus? “Cumulus is the leading global association of art and design education and research”

So, as a partner of Cumulus the Service Design Network has the opportunity to spark conversations about Service Design in the global community of design educators.

Throughout the last years we have seen incredible growth of service design programs on all educational levels from certificate courses, BA, MA and PhD programs – all over the world.

But there is still a lot of “blue ocean” in education and Cumulus is an outstanding platform to help transform design education from traditional “art and craft” through the period of marketing-driven form and functionality to a contemporary view on design for sustainable systems – to Service Design. One of the best opportunities to spark these conversations are the international Cumulus conferences that are held twice a year in different countries around the planet.

The last international Cumulus Conference “Narratives of Love” was held in China from November 21st to 23rd 2023 with satellite events that were held afterwards all over China. The main event was hosted by CAFA University in Beijing – the most renowned school for Art and Design in China. With approximately 600 participants, a high percentage of those coming from China, it gave a good overview on positions in design education, covering the broad range from arts, fashion, products to service- system thinking and AI in design.

I was honored to have been invited as a keynote-speaker, sharing the stage with Ezio Manzini, Anthony Dunne, Maria Louisa Rossi, John Thackara and Yongqui Lou – just to name a few. And it was quite evident, that we sing the same song: The planet is in turmoil: social and ecological crisis, wars – humans have damaged the planet to a point of almost no return. And design was part of that game. Now design has to shift from human-centered to life/planet/humanity centricity and try to solve the problems it has helped to create. This can only be done in interdisciplinary teams with a holistic worldview, using system thinking, guided by high ethical standards.

Whereas the invited keynote speakers from the western hemispheres share this point of view it is still amazing to see how at the same time the products that are exhibited in some of the presentations, exhibitions and side shows are iconic for the waste of resources and the pollution of our planet. Design is doing a split – not only in China. Cumulus can help to create more of a shared worldview.

And even though I am torn between many pros-and cons I believe that we need to nourish these academic conversations between countries that have very different positions in culture, politics, values. If we stop talking, we stop growing.

Cumulus has built many working groups among which there is also a Service Design Working-group. I had the pleasure of leading this group in Beijing – and it was good to see how many participants joined who had no prior experience with service design – but whose curiosity was sparked through the keynote. This is exactly what I am hoping for – laying seeds and tickling minds.

And I have to add a personal story to this- when I was in mainland China for the first time in 2002 at Wuxi University, giving a one-week workshop on service design, I felt like E.T.! Back to China many times since then I meet participants from this workshop – some of them now being professors for service design - like Miaosen Gong - or even vice-dean of their university, like Chen Chacha!

Visiting her at the Nanjing University of Arts for a Cumulus satellite event was also celebrating these long-term relationships that are proof for the value of academic networks. Many students took advantage of the opportunity to meet me, among other international guests, and to expand their design perspectives. As an educator and as the president of the global Service Design Network I am looking forward to meeting these young bright minds again at some point - when they lead the more than ever needed movements into a better future for our planet.

To the global service design community my encouragement: connect to design institutes and programs in your region – especially if the have no service design in their program. Offer a talk or a mini workshop. Build relationships. Spark change. It is in education where we build the foundations for the next generation of service designers and for the future of service design!

My thanks and compliments go the Cumulus team, the CAFA team and the NUA team (not to forget all the teams whom I did not have the chance to meet) … they have organized an extremely valuable event.