New perspectives - breaking out of the design bubble

The past year has been - and still is - a rollercoaster ride. Many organisations have come to realise that doing things the 'old way' doesn't always work anymore. The world is transforming rapidly. And so must organisations. Not only by understanding new behaviours and claiming a place in a new, broader society but also by playing a part in positive change.

Design is an optimistic field, tasked with identifying possibilities and imagining new solutions. Creative thinking compels us to look at things from new perspectives. Together with other creative thinkers we have the ability to collect, select, shape and improve. We can be catalysts enabling our collective expertise to better help manage change: tackling consumer issues, fostering responsible innovation, identifying constructive uses to powerful digital tools and technology, building customer trust, reinventing expired services and creating new ones.

The 6th edition of the Service Design Days is forward-looking and optimistic. You will break out of routines you might unknowingly be stuck in. To pursue positive disruption on both small and large scales. SDD2021 will have an outside-in set-up. You will be inspired by out-of-the box thinkers, creative rebels, and experts from futures thinking, behavioural sciences, and many other inquisitive minds. To encounter ideas or beliefs contradictory to your own and embrace new perspectives.

To pitch in and do our share, it's time to remove the barriers, unleash our creative potential, stop creating biased designs, and push forward concrete initiatives to challenge the status quo. Let's help organisations embrace an active role in an ever-shifting society. Transformation will not wait for designers, and creating positive disruption will not happen by looking away. Let's explore value creation and design new services that aren’t based on recycled patterns anymore. Let's advance our ideas. Build and lead teams to oil the wheels of innovation. And together, design transformative services, create meaningful interventions and enact changes that are indeed possible.

Challenging program

The Service Design Days is a cross-boundary, transdisciplinary conference for forward-thinkers and change-makers; strategists, entrepreneurs, leaders and influencers who are involved in product and service innovation and the (digital) transformation of organisations. The event focuses on human-centred design and connects strategic designers with business strategists and many other problem-solving minds.

The 2021 edition of the Service Design Days will take place in Barcelona on Friday and Saturday, September 17 and 18. On Thursday, September 16, we will host a welcoming kick-off party. The program offers two days of insightful masterclasses and case studies, and new views and knowledge from experienced keynote speakers.

Gain new perspectives by meeting, listening, discussing, and learning from researchers, innovators, professors, design leaders, experienced strategists, behaviourists, and other creative thinkers. Get inspired by the stories from small start-ups to large corporations on reinventing your business. Practice creative and strategic thinking with approaches like design thinking, open innovation and systems thinking. And experience how design can contribute to human-centric problem solving and forward-thinking innovation.

Why attend?

• Learn from international thought leaders and other creative minds
• Step into the shoes of the users of your services, get to know their needs and follow their journeys
• Discover new, successful ways to truly connect with your audience and build lasting customer experiences
• Peek a glance in the world from entrepreneurial, design-driven brands, and learn from their successes and failures
• Interact with decision makers just like you, from inside and outside your industry
• Follow masterclasses that normally cost at least 5 times the prices you will pay now
• And last but not least: connect with like-minded experts while having a drink, and spend time in one of the most creative cities in Spain: Barcelona

We offer a two-day pass to attend both days as well as one-day tickets. To get the most out of the event we advise you to join us on both days because the keynotes, case studies, lectures and masterclasses are strongly related to each other. The kick-off party is included in the ticket price.

Tickets and passes include:

• Access to the kick-off party on Thursday evening, September 16 (location to be announced)
• Free lunch (lunch break) on conference days
• Free coffee (coffee break) on conference days
• Free networking drinks on conference days

Event location

This year's Service Design Days conference takes place in a converted industrial warehouse, the home-base of BAU, Design College of Barcelona. The venue is located in the heart of innovative and creative Barcelona, District 22@, and is completely modernised and equipped for design training, especially in COVID-times.

Address: BAU, Design College of Barcelona, Carrer de Pujades, 118, 08005 Barcelona, Spain, Tel. +34 93 415 34 74

More information?

You can find more information about the event, the program and the ticketing terms and conditions on www.servicedesigndays.com.