All Service Design

Principles
A Service Design Principle is an
idea, a tip, an advice or a principle
to improve the human experience.

Use the Service Design Principles from

this list to create experiences humans
love and remember.
How to make shit happen?
Highlight the principles that you Select which principle could
want to implement next month. inspire which of your projects

I recommend you take a minute to Another way to his this document is to

highlight all Service Design principles that note next to the principles that resonate
you want to implement or test next with you for which of your current of
month. And if you are really motivated, future projects you could try it out.
maybe take a second highlighter colour
to pick one principle you’ll apply
tomorrow.

From where do these

principles come from?
I gathered the principles of this Get beyond the title
document over several years from
many different sources. The books in the Service Design
Principles give you more details about
I collected them from my experience as a each principle with a little story, an
Service Designer and included my example or a study. This additional
experiences as a user of different content can help you execute this
services. Many principles mentioned are principle yourself.
also inspired by psychological studies,
behavioural economics experiments and
other readings. All these principles seek About the creator
to help you build services that are less
shitty for the humans who have to use Hi there, I'm Daniele a
Service Designer and
them. educator from Switzerland.

I worked with clients from all over the world to

help them find innovative solutions to their
problems. I've been blessed to be able to learn a
lot. Today I want to share these learnings back
with the community. That's why I've built the Swiss
Innovation Academy.
What are the basics of Service Design?
Principle 001: The First Draft of Anything Is Shit.
Principle 002: Selling Is Not the End, It’s the Start.
Principle 003: Make It Easy for Customers to Come Back.
Principle 004: Always Think About What Happens Before and After Your Service.
Principle 005: Every Customer Mistake Is Your Mistake.
Principle 006: It’s Your Fucking Job to Know What I Should Buy.

Mindset: What's the way Service Designers think differently?

Principle 055: Frustrate Rude Customers.
Principle 053: Send Customers to Your Competitors.
Principle 054: Allow What Your Competitors Don’t.
Principle 051: Always Look for the People Who Accompany Your Users.
Principle 101: Think You’re Doing Well? There is a Big Chance You’re Not.
Principle 102: New Ideas Fail. Yours Will Too.
Principle 103: It’s Okay to Steal Ideas from Others.
Principle 104: Break One Tiny Habit.
Principle 105: Don’t Be a Dick When Another Service Fails.
Principle 106: The Problem Might Be the Solution.
Principle 107: Use Art and Beauty to Make It Less Scary.
Principle 108: It Costs Less Keeping Clients Than Acquiring New Ones.
Principle 148: Choose a Profession for Your Next Bot.

Workplace: How can we make employees happy too?

Principle 037: To Improve Your Service, Start by Paying Your Employees Well.
Principle 038: Make Your Employees Happy, They Will Be Better Service Providers.
Principle 039: Work Can Wait.
Principle 040: Your Open Space Is like Hell.
Principle 041: Mistakes Are Worthy Only If You Share Them.
Principle 042: Employees Should Check Their Emails Less Often.
Principle 043: Put Some Stupid Plants to Make Your Workplace Better.
Principle 044: You Need to Repeat a Behavior for 66 Days to Create a New Habit.
Principle 187: Meetings Suck Because Nobody Is Trained for Them.
Principle 188: Set a Weekly Day Without Meetings.
Principle 189: I Don’t Use My Work Apps Because You Don’t Do Your Job.
Principle 190: Tell Your Staff Before You Launch an Ad.
Principle 191: Get Fewer People on the Same Task.
Principle 192: Make Everyone Pass By the Same Door.
Principle 193: Remove the Job Titles.
Principle 194: Show Them Some Numbers.
Principle 195: I Don’t Need a Raise, I Need Appreciation.

200 Service Design

Principles
Family: How can we create more family-friendly services?
Principle 180: Help Me Get Rid of My Family.
Principle 181: Let Kids Participate Like Adults.
Principle 182: Make My Kid Busy in the Queue.
Principle 183: Even Kids Need Risk.
Principle 184: Keep Some Space for a Pushchair Parking.
Principle 185: Give Me a Lock to Park My Vehicle Safely Outside.
Principle 186: Ask Me Who Has the Admin Duty.

Wait: How can we make the waiting experience suck less?

Principle 013: Just Tell Me How Much Time I Have to Wait.
Principle 014: Let Me Imagine the Waiting Time.
Principle 015: The Length of the Line Is as Important as the Waiting Time.
Principle 016: After an 8-Minute Wait, People Will Abandon.
Principle 017: Tell Me as Soon as Possible That You Can’t Do Anything for Me.
Principle 018: Phone Chargers Help People Wait in Peace.
Principle 019: It’s Torture to Forbid People from Using Their Smartphone.
Principle 020: Stupid Aquariums Make People Forget Time.
Principle 049: I Don’t Want to Schedule an Appointment When There Is
Someone at the Counter!
Principle 127: Make Me Busy, So I Don't Notice I'm Waiting.
Principle 128: Show Me the Time Left Until I Can Hug My Wife.
Principle 129: Tell Me When I Can Start to Complain.
Principle 130: Use a Lottery to Avoid Queues and Be Fairer.

Errors: How can we handle errors better?

Principle 007: Don’t Solve Every Problem You Are Asked to Solve.
Principle 008: Do the Penis Test and Think About What Could Go Wrong.
Principle 009: Let Users Undo Their Mistakes.
Principle 010: Explain Why This Error Just Happened.
Principle 011: Suggest Something After the Error.
Principle 012: Stop Giving Coupons When You Failed.
Principle 136: Let Me Change My Opinion.
Principle 137: Tell Me It’s Not My Fault, It’s Yours.
Principle 138: When the Same Error Repeats, Call the Support for Me.
Principle 139: Make It Up to Me Twelve Times.

200 Service Design

Principles
Brick and mortar: How can we improve the experience of physical locations?
Principle 048: Your Opening Hours Don’t Make Any Sense.
Principle 175: If I Can’t Enter with My Bag, Give Me a Basket.
Principle 176: Don’t Put Shopping Baskets Only at the Entrance of the Shop.
Principle 177: Make the Invisible Visible.
Principle 178: Turn Those Loyalty Points into Stickers.
Principle 179: Make It Clear You Are Closed Forever.

Policies: How can we make rules and contracts a positive experience?

Principle 196: Make People Agree at the Start of the Interaction.
Principle 197: Make Your Contracts Short and Readable by a Kid.
Principle 198: Contracts Don’t Need to Be Boring.
Principle 199: Make Me Feel Comfortable Before You Make It Weird.
Principle 200: Tell Me What Is and Isn’t Appropriate Here.

Reviews: How can we better use and design customer reviews?

Principle 118: Show Testimonials Everywhere.
Principle 119: Show Bad Reviews.
Principle 120: Reply to Reviews.

Hotline: How can we make the hotline experience suck less?

Principle 131: Show Me What Information I Need Before I Call You.
Principle 132: Tell Me How I Can Get an Answer Faster.
Principle 133: Record More Than One Waiting Message.
Principle 134: Let Me Skip the Stupid Hotline Robot.
Principle 135: Stay With Me During the Emergency.

Choice: How can we help people make better and healthier choices?
Principle 112: Create Primary and Secondary Choices.
Principle 113: Separate Pleasure from Useful Options.
Principle 114: Slice It If People Don’t Want the Whole Thing.
Principle 115: Create Playlists with Stories When There Are Too Many Choices.
Principle 116: I Only Want to Contact You.
Principle 117: Show Me What You Won’t Do for Me.

200 Service Design

Principles
Change: How can we help people change their behaviour?
Principle 088: Offer Less Choices to Improve Customer Experience.
Principle 089: 90% of Your Website Content Is Useless.
Principle 090: Focus on Smaller Short-Term Goals to Change Behaviors.
Principle 091: To Get People to Act, Show the Losses Instead of the Wins.
Principle 092: Reduce Missed Appointments with a Simple Stupid Sentence.
Principle 093: Ask People to Name When and Where They Will Perform a New Habit.
Principle 094: Don’t Motivate People with Money.
Principle 095: 95% of People Stick to the Default Option.
Principle 150: Simplicity Makes People Do the Hard Things.
Principle 146: Tell Me Why This Changes and What’s In for Me.

Human touch: How can we make services more personal?

Principle 024: Just Remember Me.
Principle 025: Ask Unnecessary Emotional Information.
Principle 026: Making It Personal Is Different for Every Culture.
Principle 027: Don’t Force Me to Call You.
Principle 028: Don’t Create Groups of More Than 150 People.
Principle 144: Don’t Show Me I Was Stupid to Call You.
Principle 145: Speak to Me in the Local Language.
Principle 151: Show What You Offer at Your Door.
Principle 152: Show Me Where and When It’s Less Busy.
Principle 153: Remind Me What I Have to Do Before I Arrive or Leave.
Principle 154: Give Me Enough Space to Sort My Shit.
Principle 155: Show Me That You Are Already Working on It.
Principle 156: Show Me What Happens Next.
Principle 157: Repeat the Critical Information Twice.
Principle 158: Show Me That I’m Safe with You.
Principle 159: Let Me Bring a Friend to Make the Experience Better.
Principle 160: Warn Me That You’ll Ask Me to Do Something I Don’t Like.
Principle 161: Change the Light to Create a Transition in the Experience.
Principle 162: Put a Line on the Floor to Guide Me.
Principle 163: Add a Plan to My Key.
Principle 164: Reassure Me That I’m at the Right Spot.
Principle 165: Tell Me How Much I Should Tip You.
Principle 166: Remind Me I Took the Best Decision.
Principle 143: Explain My Problem to Your Colleague for Me.
Principle 147: Tell Me a Story Instead of Showing Me Data.

200 Service Design

Principles
Preparation: How can we reassure and prepare people to what's coming?
Principle 052: Help Me Remember My Room or Parking Number.
Principle 140: Show Me It Isn’t Another Boring Bill.
Principle 141: Call Me Before You Deliver.
Principle 151: Show What You Offer at Your Door.
Principle 152: Show Me Where and When It’s Less Busy.
Principle 153: Remind Me What I Have to Do Before I Arrive or Leave.
Principle 154: Give Me Enough Space to Sort My Shit.
Principle 155: Show Me That You Are Already Working on It.
Principle 156: Show Me What Happens Next.
Principle 157: Repeat the Critical Information Twice.
Principle 158: Show Me That I’m Safe with You.
Principle 159: Let Me Bring a Friend to Make the Experience Better.
Principle 160: Warn Me That You’ll Ask Me to Do Something I Don’t Like.
Principle 161: Change the Light to Create a Transition in the Experience.
Principle 162: Put a Line on the Floor to Guide Me.
Principle 163: Add a Plan to My Key.
Principle 164: Reassure Me That I’m at the Right Spot.
Principle 165: Tell Me How Much I Should Tip You.
Principle 166: Remind Me I Took the Best Decision.

Trust: How can we build trust in our services with the people who use them?
Principle 084: You Are a Liar, so Let Me Ask Other Customers.
Principle 085: You Need 10 Reviews to Build Trust.
Principle 086: Sharing Your Bias Builds Trust.
Principle 087: Use the IKEA Effect to Make Your Users Proud.

Price: How can the pricing and payements create a new experience?
Principle 021: The Problem Is Not the Interface, It’s the Pricing.
Principle 022: Show Me Your Damn Pricing.
Principle 023: The Price Changes the Quality Without Any Other Change.
Principle 121: Show Me the Full Price from the Start.
Principle 122: Give Me a Reason Why There Is a Discount.
Principle 123: Give Me a Note to Bring to the Cashier.
Principle 124: Let Me Donate Without Cash.
Principle 125: Don’t Print the Receipt Right Away.
Principle 126: Make Dicks Pay More.

200 Service Design

Principles
Naming: How can we use the name of things to create a better experience?
Principle 045: Give Everything a Name.
Principle 046: Stop Inventing Silly Names for Standard Stuff.
Principle 047: Don’t Assume That I Know How to Spell Your Company Name.

Technology: How can we better use technology to serve people?

Principle 029: Tools Are Not the Problem but the Symptom.
Principle 030: Making It Digital Won’t Make It Smarter.
Principle 031: Scheduled Automation Is Stupid.
Principle 032: A Bot Won’t Help Shape Your Culture.
Principle 033: I Prefer Bots over Fake Humans.
Principle 034: Let Me Speak with a Human.
Principle 035: Why Can’t I Answer This Email?
Principle 036: It’s Now Time to Websites That React to the Context.
Principle 050: Choose the Proper Sound to Alert Your Users.
Principle 142: Use Text Messages as the Reception Ring.

Self Service: How can we involve people in the creation of the service?
Principle 109: Let Me Find a Solution by Myself.
Principle 110: Let Me Decide Where the Money Goes.
Principle 111: Let Me Tell You Where You Should Clean Up.

Understand: How can we better understand the people we serve?

Principle 056: Eat Your Own Shit.
Principle 057: Use the “Honestly, Would You Do That?” Test.
Principle 058: Be Ready to Get Slapped by Your Customers If You Ask Them Feedback.
Principle 059: Great Ideas from Yesterday Might Suck Today.
Principle 060: Test Your Service with Extreme Users Who Will Break Everything.
Principle 061: Don’t Ask. Observe Behaviors.
Principle 062: Don’t Ask for Feedback, Hunt for Feedback.
Principle 063: Do Not Send Surveys to a Small Team.

Lazy: How can we do Service Designer in less time?

Principle 072: Keep It Simple Stupid.
Principle 073: When You Add This, Remove That.
Principle 074: It’s Okay If Your Website Looks like Every Other Website.
Principle 075: Don’t Build Custom Software for Your Business.
Principle 076: Let Employees Use Their Own Apps
Principle 077: Print in Black and White.
Principle 149: It’s Okay to Not Be Clean.

200 Service Design

Principles
Small changes: How can we have a big impact with small changes?
Principle 064: Adding More Resources Won’t Always Solve the Problem.
Principle 065: Forget Complex Technology, Just Use Some Stupid Paper.
Principle 066: Save 2 Million with a Simple Checklist.
Principle 067: Pets Can Help with Depression and Health.
Principle 068: Reduce Cleaning Costs by Putting a Fly Sticker in the Urinal.
Principle 069: Beauty Reduces Pain.
Principle 070: A Good Sticker Can Reduce Thefts by 62%.
Principle 071: Candies Make People Smarter.

Perception: How can we fix the problem by working on the perception?

Principle 078: People Don’t Know That You Are Doing a Great Job.
Principle 079: You Will Be Seen as a Better Service If You Do Only One Thing.
Principle 080: Good Design Helps You Sell Things for Twice the Usual Price.
Principle 081: One Wow Effect Is Enough.
Principle 082: Do Small Updates and Sell Revolutions.
Principle 083: A Swimsuit Can Make Your Event Different.

Rythm: How can we create rythm to make services less boring?

Principle 096: Under Promise, over Deliver.
Principle 097: Start with the Boring Stuff Then Excite Me Little by Little.
Principle 098: Always End a Service with a High Peak.
Principle 099: Uncertainty Makes Users Safer.
Principle 100: Friction Can Help People to Be Less Stupid.

200 Service Design

Principles