Teaching

School of visual arts • Interaction Design MFA • Since 2015

Each year I teach the service design course in the School of Visual Arts' Interaction Design MFA program. Lectures, case studies, hands-on exercises and guest speakers cover the fundamentals: services as a sociological process, how the service economy works, and how organizations in every sector use service design to solve real problems.

Teaching keeps me current and honest. Every class brings together students from different countries, professions and disciplines, and they push my thinking as much as I push theirs.

The semester ends with a group project: students take on a real service, working with the organization that runs it, to find where service design could remove obstacles or create value. Past projects range from the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library to the NYC subway. A few are below.

Interview quote describing challenges facing one patron of the Andrew Heiskell Library — An interviewee from the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library describes his goals and challenges

Several assistive technologies offered by the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library used to enable those with low vision to read — Assistive technologies offered by the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library used to enable those with low vision to read

Customer journey map for patrons of the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, with emotional dimensions — Customer journey map illustrating the frustrations and obstacles facing patrons of the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, including emotional dimensions

Comparison of "before" and "after" floorplans for Andrew Heiskell Library — Students proposed a revised floorplan (at right) for the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library that enables smoother traffic through the stacks, and more accessible table placement throughout.

Segment of a service blueprint highlighting the thoughts and feelings of patrons of the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library

A customer journey map for a customer of Sephora — A customer journey map highlighting the challenges and obstacles facing a customer persona of Sephora

Group of people participating in a co-design session at Sephora — The Sephora project team facilitating a co-design session with Sephora employees

Designers standing in front of whiteboard covered with post-it notes — Students from team Sephora creating an affinity diagram from their field research findings

Journey map for NYC fruit and vegetable vendors — A map illustrating the journey of NYC's fruit and vegetable street vendors, highlighting their pain points

A map illustrating who the project team interviewed during their discovery phase — A map illustrating who the Street Vendor project team interviewed during their discovery phase

One of the street vendors interviewed during the project team's field research phase

My Fall 2018 class at SVA in a group photo — My Fall 2018 class at SVA.

Inside organizations

At Citi I taught service design methods and principles to more than 100 colleagues from around the bank, from front-line bankers to managing directors. Using "service design 101" seminars and holding one-on-one coaching and office hours, I trained colleagues on practical basics for applying a client-centric lens to their work.

Currently exploring what's next. Always glad to talk about service design, inclusive design, or what it takes to make a large institution genuinely curious about its customers.

thisguy@marshallsitten.com