Thomas Wilson, an award-winning creative director, UX designer, and service designer, discusses service design, challenges in digitization projects, cultural aspects of digital transformation in healthcare, predictions for the future of design and AI, and the impact of 'Thank You for Being Late' by Thomas Friedman.
Service design connects user researchers and UX designers with broader ecosystems for operationalizing customer experiences.
Service designers in healthcare face challenges in navigating political, territorial, and cultural obstacles for meaningful transformation.
Prioritizing human-centered design and service-oriented thinking is crucial for creating desirable customer experiences.
Deep dives
The Rise of Service Design in Digital Transformation
Service design plays a critical role in connecting user researchers and UX designers with the broader ecosystems that support and operationalize customer experiences through service design.
The Journey from Traditional Design to a Focus on Problem Solving
The guest, Thomas Wilson, started his career in design, but quickly realized he enjoyed solving complex problems and understanding how different parts and pieces fit together within large ecosystems.
The Challenges of Implementing Service Design in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations often have traditional thinking and face challenges in adapting to change. Service designers working in healthcare must navigate political, territorial, and cultural obstacles to bring about meaningful transformation.
The Importance of Human-Centered Design and Service-Oriented Thinking
Thomas emphasizes the need to prioritize human-centered design and service-oriented thinking over a product-first approach. He believes that businesses should focus on creating desirable experiences for customers, considering their holistic journey and needs.
The Future of Design Ops, AI, and Service Design
In the future, Thomas predicts that design ops will hold strategic importance and that service design and AI will play significant roles. He also anticipates a shift away from traditional agile methodologies and a greater focus on centralizing data and leveraging NLP and AI for operational efficiency.
In this episode, we speak with Thomas Wilson who plays a critical role in tying the work of user researchers and UX designers, who products and services more deeply into the customer's lives, with the broader ecosystems to support and operationalize those experiences through service design.
He has been an award-winning creative director, UX designer, and service designer for over 25 years. He's been recognized in Forbes Magazine, Best of Web, and twice in the 500. His work with Venture Design. He's moved the needle at 52 Startups and Has worked for companies like NASA, JWT, AIG, Kroger, Amazon Web Services, and 11 of the largest healthcare systems like Blue Cross Blue Shield.
At UnitedHealthcare, he leads the design community of practice and hosts the Friday Design Hour showcasing research, innovation, and design for the largest healthcare company in the world.