A Letter From Our President

We live in a borderless world and it is thanks to the opportunities that this brings that we, in partnership with you, have built the global community that is the Service Design Network. As we unite and witness the devastating impact the spread of coronavirus is having across the planet, we want to say that we are thinking of you and yours, and your health and safety during these challenging times. 

All types of services play a considerable role in our everyday lives. As they become inaccessible, we truly feel the value that they provide. In times like this, healthcare services play a particularly vital one. We at the SDN applaud the healthcare providers who are putting their lives at risk every day to help contain this pandemic and remain optimistic that governments will place the design of better services even higher on their global agendas to ensure an even better tomorrow. 

Service design has never been in greater demand. 

The SDN Is Here For You

To all the entrepreneurs, freelancers, consultants and designers among our community who are challenged by these uncertain times, the one guarantee that we can make is that the SDN is here for you. While we diligently take the necessary precautions with our staff, please note that we are operating in “business as usual” mode, offering you all the services you have come to expect from our organisation. 

While you already have access to our Slack community, where many of you are already providing support to each other, we are setting up a dedicated channel focused on helping you during this time: #SD-and-Crisis. This is a place to present your ideas on how service design can be of value during a crisis, insights on the ups and downs of working remotely, and/or sharing the latest news, precautions and breakthroughs about the pandemic. 

At this time, you might also be wondering what the status is of our upcoming Service Design Global Conference 2020. As it stands today, we are actively planning to welcome you to the great city of Copenhagen with great talks and presentations around the theme: Shaping Tomorrow. We will continue to evaluate the situation and will provide updates should anything change.

The service design community is a close-knit group working diligently to show the world how our practice can bring about positive, transformational change. As practitioners, we are used to navigating through complexity. Nevertheless, we are an optimistic bunch who knows how to come together and create real value, even during uncertain times such as these. 

Stay healthy, keep your spirits up and offer your services to those who are in need!

Find more info on the SDN Slack workspace here.