“Scenario planning is a tool for telling stories about the future.”

 

—Ellen Lupton

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Overview

From week 6 to 7, reflection on fieldwork prepares students to move from individual narratives to systemic stories across service interactions. Raijmakers et al. (2006) describe design documentaries as narrative tools that convey user experiences through visual storytelling. In this context, design documentaries (Raijmakers, 2007) are introduced to integrate video ethnography and service blueprinting (Lee et al., 2023; Bitner et al., 2008; Shostack, 1984), bridging micro-level human behaviors with service interactions. 
 

By mapping the journeys of service providers and recipients based on interviews and field observations, students transform individual empathy into systemic insights. The emphasis lies in revealing broader and interconnected relationships—how individuals, interfaces, and infrastructures co-construct meaning within service ecosystems (Vink et al., 2020).

 

Reflections

• How does visual storytelling (e.g., design documentaries, photo diaries) transform ethnographic evidence into persuasive narratives for design solutions and business strategies?

• What ethical considerations arise when translating interviewees’ lived experiences into visual or narrative form?

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References

• Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L., & Morgan, F. N. (2008). Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation. California Management Review, 50(3), 66–94. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166446

• Lee, S.-H., Patskanick, T., Balmuth, A., & Coughlin, J. F. (2023). Applying Human-centered System Design to the Development of a Tool for Service Innovation. In Connectivity and Creativity in Times of Conflict: Applying Human‐Centered System Design to the Development of a Tool for Service Innovation (pp. 26-29). Academia Press. https://doi.org/10.26530/9789401496476-006

• Lupton, E. (2017). Design is Storytelling. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

• Raijmakers, B. (2007). Design Documentaries: Using Documentary Film to Inspire Design (Doctoral Dissertation). Royal College of Art.

• Raijmakers, B., & Gaver, W. (2006, June 26–28). Design Documentaries: Inspiring Design Research Through Documentary Film. In Proceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ’06) (pp. 229–238). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/1142405.1142441

• Shostack, G. L. (1984). Designing Services that Deliver. Harvard Business Review, 62(1), 133–139.

• Vink, J., Koskela-Huotari, K., Tronvoll, B., Edvardsson, B., & Wetter-Edman, K. (2020). Service Ecosystem Design: Propositions, Process Model, and Future Research Agenda. Journal of Service Research, 24(2), 168-186. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520952537
  (Original work published 2021)