Thoughts - Meld Studios

#Censusfail – a timeline

August 31, 2016 In Musings By Kimberley Crofts Comments (4)

The 2016 Australian census was nothing if not controversial. For those outside Australia, most of the controversy relates to whether the names and addresses of the public should be retained along with the statistical data. Previously, unless you had specified you wanted your name kept...

The Art of Interview

August 26, 2016 In Capability Building, Design By Paul Merrell Comments (1)

Design can begin with understanding. Understanding a product or a service yes, and understanding the lives of people interacting with these products and services. Research interviews can be a helpful start to understanding the needs, desires, aspirations, hopes, dreams, fears, and anxieties of people we are...

How our skills matrix supports candid conversations with staff

August 9, 2016 In Capability Building, Employee experience By Alison Sharp Comments (2)

Before having a skills matrix, our conversations with staff were relatively light and positive; we found it difficult to point out weaknesses and skill gaps. Now we use the matrix to talk more objectively about the skills and behaviours expected at each level, and can...

A Service Design Perspective on the Rollout of New Federal Disability Funding

August 2, 2016 In Musings, Service design By Jack Huston Comments (1)

Service design is playing an ever increasing role in large systemic changes in which there are human elements. A systemic, service design approach could support the roll out of the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) for individuals with mental health needs. It is critical to ensuring that the...

Lunchtime chats with students

July 6, 2016 In What's been happening By Kimberley Crofts Comments (0)

Today I spent lunch with students and staff at Tractor Design School in Surry Hills, chatting about the design process and pathways into the design industry. Tractor have a really great set up. The main space is completely open with students and teachers all sitting together – there...

Building your internal design team – how to find designers

June 30, 2016 In Capability Building, The business of design By Nova Franklin Comments (0)

If you are struggling to find talented individuals to join your internal design team, you are not alone. This topic is one that comes up frequently in the conversations we have with our clients. People with skills in service design, human-centered design, design thinking, experience design,...

Quick guide: how to create a blog post without writing

June 28, 2016 In Design, Musings, Presenting, Tools and techniques By Jess Ede Comments (2)

I caught up with my friend Lauren Currie (aka Red Jotter) in London a few weeks ago and we spoke about her latest project, #upfront. The project is a response to the common issues people face in sharing their thoughts and opinions through public speaking....

The problem with product-led thinking in a service-dominant world

June 7, 2016 In Capability Building, Musings, Service design By Kimberley Crofts Comments (3)

We are well into the service age but it's taking a while for us to catch up. Product-led thinking still guides the operating structures of many large organisations, even though the successful delivery of their services requires them to act differently. Could it be that...

The pulse of the city

May 27, 2016 In Design, Service design, Tools and techniques By Jonathan Yang Comments (1)

This April I had the opportunity to attend the Design & The City event in Amsterdam. It was a 4-day event with local universities, agencies and municipalities hosting talks and workshops across the city. The main conference saw a number of interesting projects presented and...

Introduction to Service Design – Sydney workshop

May 25, 2016 In Events By Iain Barker Comments (0)

For the first time we'll be running our popular 'Introduction to Service Design' two-day workshop publicly. The workshop will be run in Sydney on the 20th and 21st July. Full details about the workshop can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-service-design-2-day-workshop-tickets-25658270578. We hope to see you there. ...