“I was much more interested in making things than in designing them.”

 

—Marc Newson

​

Overview​​

Transitioning from week 9 to 10, these synthesized insights form the basis for connecting ethnographic research with organizational practice. Design, in general, can be understood as an applied science, and the same principle extends to service design. Within this field, the servicescape becomes critical, as it encompasses both visible and invisible components that shape the user journey (Penin, 2018; Stickdorn et al., 2018; Kimbell, 2017). As emerging design ethnographers, students are encouraged to continually consider how classroom learning can be applied to professional practice.

This week's focus is to deepen our interpretation of the Sankey diagram, developed from interview coding using Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory (2024). We will ask: How do we read the diagram? What stories, tensions, and intentions sit behind the flows of data? What implicit meanings can be surfaced by re-reading the diagram from different perspectives? The Sankey diagram serves as a generative visualization tool, facilitating the construction of new meaning, enhancing narrative clarity, and providing evidence-based insights from semi-structured interviews.

This week also features a guest session with a General Motors (GM) leadership team focusing on service innovation, showcasing real-world applications of ethnographic research through an industry case study. Students will examine how Charmaz’s (2024) constructivist grounded theory methods can be applied not only within team-based projects but also in corporate and organizational contexts, culminating in a 250-word reflective essay. The discussion positions Urban Technology (UT) students within broader interdisciplinary ecosystems of service innovation, emphasizing the role of design ethnography in connecting research, practice, and industry transformation (Wizinsky & Boyer, 2025).

 

Reflections

• How did engaging with industry perspectives reshape your understanding of applying ethnography within corporate or institutional contexts?

• What strategies can bridge the gap between design ethnographic insight and real-world implementation in service innovation

 

References

• Charmaz, K. (2024). Constructive Grounded Theory (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

• Kimbell, L. (2017). The Service Innovation Handbook: Action-oriented Creative Thinking Toolkit for Service Organizations. BIS Publishers.

• Lee, S.-H., Liddell, D., Yang, M., Coughlin, J. F., & de Weck, O. L. (2025). Toward a Conceptual Framework for AI and Robotics in Aging in Place: Insights from Constructivist Grounded Theory. Proceedings of the Design Society, 5, 3121–3129. doi:10.1017/pds.2025.10326

• Penin, L. (2018). An Introduction to Service Design: Designing the Invisible. Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

• Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M. E., Lawrence, A., & Schneider, J. (2018). This Is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World. O’Reilly Media.

• Wizinsky, M., & Boyer, B. (2025). Design, Technology, and Cities: Integrating Design Education in an Undergraduate Degree in Urban Technology. Design Research Society