It’s pretty cool to see that we made Marketing Week’s top 50 agencies this year.
Being the first Service Design specialist to make the top 50 category.
Its great to see service design starting to be recognised alongside other design disciplines.
We’re looking forward to 2013!
Yesterday Consumer Focus launched the user research report we complied ‘Today I told my story – Sharing experiences of social care’.
There is a clear need for better information and greater transparency in the care sector. The social care system is complex and notoriously difficult to navigate, yet there is no single authoritative and comprehensive information source that consumers can consult to find out their options and eligibility for services. It is particularly hard to gain insight into service quality or what people actually think about the services they use.
This report presents the work we undertook to develop a bespoke concept for the sector that is mindful of these difficulties. It does not offer a complete solution, rather suggests a foundation that others can build on. It starts by introducing the concept and explains why we think the time is right for a user feedback service in the care sector.
Well done to Zoe, Tamsin, Richard and Alice who all work really hard to make the user research and report happen.
Ambulatory Emergency Care from thinkpublic on Vimeo.
It’s great to see the animation being used, that’s part of the Ambulatory Emergency Care service design project we worked on for the NHS Institute.
Watch the animation to better understand how Ambulatory Emergency Care works.
Well done Ness, Chris, Sam and Abi.
IntergenerationAll from thinkpublic on Vimeo.
We love our new animation that Ella and Stassja made for The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to help people search for their inner designer. Its part of the Intergenerational work we have been doing in the UK and Portugal over the last few years.
We hope it inspires you to try something new.
Looking for thinkpublic? We’re taking a pause, as our founding director Deborah is going on maternity leave from September 2012. We’ve learnt from many of our projects with new mums and children’s services, that starting a family can be like starting a business, extremely consuming in both time and energy. Which is why we are finishing off our current projects and pausing the work of the studio, we see this time as a chance to focus on a few initiatives, whilst feeding our imaginations.
“I started thinkpublic when I was 23 and I had no idea what an impact it would create. thinkpublic has grown from strength to strength, I have been lucky to work with some amazing people on a diverse and exciting range of projects. Yet now is the time to do something different for a bit, the ultimate ‘social’ thing of starting a family! I’m pretty sure it will give me plenty of food for thought, for when I return.” Deborah Szebeko
In 2003 Deborah had a vision that people should be involved in how public services are designed and delivered, and as a team thinkpublic worked with some forward thinking clients including the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, the Alzheimer’s Society, The Gulbenkian Foundation, NESTA, The Design Council and a long list of local authorities and local NHS Trusts to achieve this. This has resulted in many awards, including The British Council’s Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year and our latest Design Week, Service Design Award.
We’ve had an amazing time over the last 9 years leading and shaping the movement of social design and innovation in the UK and beyond. As a team we have used design to influence and change many mindsets, services and policies that have really resulted in creating a positive impact on people’s lives.
And we know there is more to do. So whilst we are away, we’re happy to talk about opportunities and partnerships, so do stay in touch. And watch this space for more news.
Watch some of our great films
Read some of our press and stories
Browse thinkpublic team and project photos
Contact thinkpublic
As part of The After Work Club we have joined up with Mike Jenn the founder of The Camden Town Shed, for a seminar in how to start your own MensShed on 24th July.
Mike will share his experience and expertise to advise and answer questions about how to start your own Men’s Shed. Then experience a tour of The Camden Town Shed, see what it offers plus meet and chat to some of it’s members to hear what they get from it.
A MensShed develops the typical shed in the garden, where a man pursues practical interests in independence and ease, by adding better tools and resources and more interaction. It replaces elements of a workplace that some people miss such as a loss of role or purpose, chatting with the people you work with, problem solving, learning, sharing skills and even the work!
To find out more click here.
We’re happy to find out that we won the Service Design category at last night’s Design Week Awards, which recognises the best British design talent of the year.
The categories included product, brand campaigns, packaging, furniture and many more. This was the first year for the service design to be recognised and we were lucky enough to get two of our services short-listed.
The first was for the Community Coach, a life coaching service we design and prototyped for families with complex needs in Barnet.
The winner was Relative Friends, a social venture with an aim to tackle issues of loneliness in the UK. The service design combines hosted social events with a safe online social networking environment and features bright, fun and cheeky branding.
The judges said: Well-thought-through, clear and smart. Service design with real intent. Clever thinking that has an impact on people’s lives and community as a whole.
We have been running it at a small scale so far in London and Manchester and are looking for further funding to scale the service across the UK. So do get in contact if you would like to know more or you would like to help.
We’re delighted to announce the beta launch of The After Work Club, a new social network that provides men aged 55-65 with the inspiration, connections and resources to help them redefine life after work. The service combines an online social environment with real-world social events, which together enable members to gain inspiration and insight from others who have done amazing things since leaving their full-time careers and to share stories and ideas about life beyond full-time employment.
The beta website theafterworkclub.co.uk , which is currently offering free memberships, follows a successful maiden social event held in the iconic Design Council building in London in May. The next event will be held in London on 20 June 2012. There are lots of ways to participate beyond signing up for membership and we’re keen to talk to people and organisations that can help support the Club through its next stage of growth. Please get in touch at hello@theafterworkclub.co.uk if you’d like to join in!
The After Work Club was inspired by research we conducted across more than 350 men over the age of 55, looking at the opportunities and challenges they face when leaving a full-time working environment. It’s clear that the traditional concept of ‘retirement’ is outdated; rather than stopping work and pottering around for a few years, many people see it as an opportunity to do new things, perhaps to retrain and start a new career, fulfil a lifetime ambition, or simply to try something different. However, for many, it’s a question of knowing where to start – getting a sense of what’s possible and then building the social connections and support that can help you move forwards with confidence. That’s where The After Work Club comes in. It’s a fun and inspiring environment that helps men to get the most out of this exciting new stage in their lives.
thinkpublic has created the Club in partnership with the Fitness Industry Association (FIA), the trade organisation for the health and fitness sector. The initial research and development was supported through a grant provided by the Technology Strategy Board and the Design Council, as part of a national ‘Keeping Connected’ Business Challenge.
On Wednesday night I was luckily enough to get invited to the RCA Innovation Night 2012, with Will.i.am – Musician, Entrepreneur and Director of Creative Innovation, Intel Corporation, as the guest speaker. Previous speakers include Burberry Creative Director Christopher Bailey, Apple’s Jonathan Ive, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley and Sir James Dyson.
It was really interesting to hear how Will.i.am is using his fame and fortune to do so much great work in local communities across the US. Including launching I AM Auto, a car company that brings computer-programming and car-engineering skills to the deprived neighbourhood where he grew up.
The three tips I took from the talk included:
Don’t forget to dream, as dreamers mould and create the future, and right now we need to dream.
Being a palm tree right now is the best thing to be, as they have deep roots and after storms they are the last things standing.
We need to bring science and design closer together, which I think is really exciting!
