To develop, promote, and strengthen the knowledge and practice of Service Design in Chicago through accessible Service Design events. Since 2013, we have worked to grow the Service Design community here in Chicago through free or low cost meetups via meetup.com. Our meetup community has grown to over 500 members in Chicago. Forming an SDN chapter is the next stage in our growth as a Service Design community. 

Working in concert with the low barrier offerings of Service Experience Chicago, we envision SDN as a professional level community. Additionally, SDN members will receive discounted prices to Service Experience Chicago events to improve the value proposition for investing in a Professional SDN membership here in Chicago.

Objectives

  • Share and grow Service Design through in-person and virtual events in Chicago, the midwest, and beyond.
  • Grow a network of executives, leaders and practitioners focused on Service Design that can sustain the need for talent in our city.
  • Promote community and connectedness through formal and informal gatherings such as panel discussions and workshops through the year.
  • Identify and connect organizations and top teir research institutions to SD leadership where SD can make a difference.

 

Goals 

  • Hold regular chapter events using a mixture of in-person and remote activities. Building from our monthly meetups and quarterly Service Jams we will add professional workshops in order to grow our community to a more professional level while maintaining the low barrier of entry.
  • Broaden our reach in the Chicago community by reaching out to organizations and institutions to educate and inform them about Service Design through informal networks and our LinkedIn Group and SDN Chapter website.
  • Ensure we sustain a cross-disciplined community and approach to Service Design by inviting and including a variety of related disciplines and expertise in our membership and event content.
  • Connect with colleges and universities to encourage the formation of student members and groups. The goal of this effort is to inform them of the Service Design profession, to mentor their career development, help them engage the local community with Service Design initiatives, and guide them in building leadership skills to be valuable as the next generation of Service Designers.

 

Thomas Brandenburg
Thomas Brandenburg - Lead Service Designer

Thomas Brandenburg is the lead in-house service designer at BP. He applies service design to product service systems. Prior to this position he has enjoyed lead designer roles for museums, retail, and automotive tech. Thomas is an Adjunct Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology. He teaches service design, technology, and innovation courses. He facilitates students teams on many projects with community partners; Kohls Children’s museum, Wilson Sporting Goods, to UL—to name a few. Thomas is co-founder and board member of the SDN Chicago Chapter. He serves on the SDN accreditation committee. He also is an accredited master service designer and trainer at SDN Academy.

Michelle Kwolek
Michelle Kwolek - Sr. Service Designer

Michelle is a service designer with experience in agency, startup, and corporate environments. She has done work in a variety of industries including healthcare, financial services, and travel.

Mark Jones
Mark Jones -

I am passionate about driving innovation strategy within the context of a continuously changing society. My design philosophy is based on the principle that the introduction of new products and services can fundamentally change how people live their lives, and I see my role as an advocate for positive change. My extensive design background and broad experience in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies allow me to uncover user issues, convert them into actionable design strategy, and create memorable service experiences that not only serve customers’ needs, but inspire true, long-term loyalty. I have deep expertise in customer journeys, experiment design, branded experiences and service blueprinting, and I relish facilitating cross-organizational collaboration to help companies focus on anticipating the nature of change, design viable solutions and create alignment for an actionable path forward to launch next-generation products and services.