Get acquainted
Discover Service Design
- 2 weeks
- Awareness level
- Online or in-person
Overview
You will learn about the process used to design services, how to describe a service, and discover the relationship between services and you.
Who is this course for?
As you learn about service design, you’ll tackle a design challenge with other learners. You’ll try out some tools and develop skills to bring service design to life.
How will this course help you?
You will learn how the design process supports you to fully understand problems before working towards solutions.
The course will give you the opportunity to try out a handful of tools and develop skills in a safe environment.
Course structure
- Session 1
- Session 2
Session 1
Getting to know service design
Starting with the fundamentals, you will be introduced to the service design process and the Double Diamond as a framework.
You will be asked to consider how bias effects your decision making and start to learn how to challenge assumptions.
Exploring a service provider perspective, you will consider services delivered by you, your team or organisation.
Switching to a service user perspective, you will reflect on a service you have interacted with recently.
You will gain
- Knowledge of service design and its key principles
- Awareness of the pitfalls of assumption-based thinking
- The importance of empathy in designing with – not just for – people
- The ability to describe what you do as a service
Session 2
Rapid design challenge
We'll introduce some basic user research theory, before starting to learn-by-doing on a practical design challenge.
You will learn to understand, analyse, and synthesise data to define problem and opportunity areas. Once you understand the problem, you will learn the basics of how to identify and communicate the right solution.
After we set the context with some service design theory and stories, you will continue to learn-by-doing with an introduction to idea generation and prototyping.
You'll finish the session preparing for success, by planning how to support your future service design journey.
You will gain
- An understanding of how to use a small set of tools to gather knowledge and begin to understand user needs
- The ability to reframe defined problems into opportunities for solutions
- The confidence to collaborate with others and use tools to generate ideas
- The value of a data-led approach to innovation
- The space to consider how you could use service design to support better ways of working in future
Timetable
- Online
- In-person
Online
Tuesday mornings
September 2025
Session 1
- Tuesday 23 September 2025
- 09:30 - 13:00
- 3.5 hours with two 15-minute breaks
Session 2
- Tuesday 30 September 2025
- 09:30 - 13:00
- 3.5 hours with two 15-minute breaks
In-person
Dundee
- Tuesday 2 December 2025
- 10:00 - 16:00
- To be confirmed
- 6 hours with a 1-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks
Glasgow
- Tuesday 9 December 2025
- 10:00 - 16:00
- To be confirmed
- 6 hours with a 1-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks
Teaching and certification
Service Design Network accredited
- Online
- In-person
Equipment
To ensure the best possible experience for yourself and others, we recommend that your wear a headset to provide clarity of sound and improved live captions for those who use them.
Tools
We deliver our training using Microsoft Teams and Miro.
There is no requirement for you to install this software or create an account in advance of the course.
Although both tools are available as downloadable apps which may enhance your experience, each is available on the web in your browser.
Equipment and tools
Our in-person training involves speaker presentations and activities involving Sharpies, sticky notes, and paper.
Lunch
Lunch will be provided, alongside light refreshments at break times.
Cost and payment
Online
Early bird (Save £35)
£ 390
GBP
In-person
Early bird (Save £75)
£ 550
GBP
Discounted places
- Discounts for individuals
- Discounts for groups
If you are facing financial challenges
You may be eligible for a discounted place if you are:
- In receipt of benefits or on a reduced income
- Under 25, or a full-time student
- A freelancer, sole trader, or small business owner in your first year of trading
- Able to demonstrate personal circumstances that makes paying the full course fee a significant barrier to your participation.
If you are facing systemic discrimination
This is a self-identified process based on trust and a commitment to promoting diversity. You may be eligible for a discounted place if you identify as belonging to:
- People of the global majority
- Disabled and neurodivergent people
- LGBTQIA+ people.
Groups booking multiple places
Service design is a team activity! If you'd like to join a public course and learn with your colleagues, we can provide a 10% discount to help you bring at least two additional colleagues.
For groups larger than 5, speak to us about a customised course.
Organisations facing financial challenges
This includes charities with an annual income under £1 million and organisations delivering public good who are struggling to cover costs or issue a statement of going concern.