Service Design (MA)
Sujeban Susilakanthan
I am a Service Designer and Design Strategist passionate about solving complex problems and making a positive difference. I design services, products and experiences in the physical as well as digital realm.
Prior to my postgraduate studies, I graduated in BA Communication Design from the Peter Behrens School of Arts in Düsseldorf, Germany. I’ve started my career in design in the advertising and media industry, where I had the opportunity to apply my creative and storytelling skills to projects and campaigns for some of the most popular brands of our time. Parallel to my creative journey, I've taken on different sales and business development roles in startups to pursue my interest in business. While I enjoyed both of these journeys, I haven't really managed to combine them successfully. The nature of these roles didn’t allow me to take a more holistic approach to solve problems. I realised that I was primarily solving business problems.With Service Design I found a way to combine both of my interests and to take a more holistic approach to use my creative skills to help people to progress, businesses to succeed and the planet to sustain.
I am highly collaborative and I thrive as part of multidisciplinary teams where I can be inspired, but also inspire others. I balance creativity with an analytical approach, supported by in-depth research to make sure that I am designing the right 'thing', to then design the 'thing' right.
My superpower: Provoking new thinking through "crazy and evil ideas".
Parallel to my postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art, I had the opportunity to work as a Service Designer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Asset and Wealth Management Operations.
My design practice combines service, strategy and experience design. I enjoy taking an explorative approach to research on a macro and micro level, experimenting from day one of any project, provoking new thinking through developing ‘crazy and evil ideas’, prototyping early, simplifying the complex through storytelling and embracing uncertainty.
As part of the MA Service Design programme, I had the opportunity to work on various projects in collaboration with project partners from the public and private sector, exploring the future of bank branches (Lloyds Banking Group), developing a data-driven service to combat media overconsumption (BBC), tackling illegal transportation of electronic waste (CERN) and aligning individual and organisational growth for a software and technology consultancy (ThoughtWorks). A project exploring the future of video games and their effects on our physical and mental health was chosen as the winning project in a collaboration with Telefonica Alpha. My group and I were invited to their headquarters in Barcelona to pitch our concept to design, technology and business experts.
On our last project as part of our journey at the RCA, Jae Sun Park and I collaborated with Visa. We developed a concept to reduce overcrowding on the public transportation network in urban environments.
Going forward I would like to explore a more Systems Thinking oriented approach to Service Design to consider more interconnections and complexities human beings, businesses and the planet are faced with.
Opportunity statement
User view - Step count — To use Urban Moments, users would sign in using their existing account with their transport provider. This would enable the transport provider to get a better insight into citizens’ travel behaviours. As the user starts walking during peak hours, the step count is automatically activated. The app then tracks and converts their steps into Urban Points all in real-time. This data is stored and processed by the transport provider. The user gets and an indication of how much time is left until the peak time ends. They also have the option to pause or stop their step count in case they don’t want to be tracked on a certain part of their commute. At the end of the peak time, the step count is automatically deactivated. By clicking on “insights” the user can see their contribution towards a reduction in Co2 emissions, congestion and other factors.
User view - Offers — On the recommendations page, users can filter offers based on their current location and available Urban Points to spend. Here they can access other users' reviews of the offers. Not only that but the system would automatically keep track of the number of steps taken to redeem an offer. This metric becomes another visual information for the user to get a sense of the quality of the service. After selecting an offer, the user receives a coupon. They can redeem the offer by showing the QR-code.
Local shop view — Local shop owners fill in details of their offer and publish them on the platform to attract more customers. By using the scan function in the app local shops can validate coupons and then give out the offer. On the admin dashboard, local shops have an overview of their sales and details on redeemed offers. They can also access information about increases in revenue, new customers and repeat purchases.
Value exchange
Post-pandemic — Immediately after the current lockdown measures due to Covid-19, when people will no longer wear face masks or follow social distancing, public transportation will have less demand. People will be looking for safer ways to get around the city. However, driven by marketing and incentivisation activities due to revenue pressure, public transportation and ride-hailing services will see an increase in demand again. This would be the ideal time to launch “Urban Moments” and to embed it into existing commuting habits. Immediately after the lockdown, Urban Moments primarily works as a way for people who are walking or cycling anyway to get rewarded for such behaviour and to explore local shops in the city. Along with investments into the city infrastructure during and directly after the pandemic to keep post-pandemic pollution levels low, more people will be walking and cycling which will result in reduced demand for the public transportation network during peak-times, an improved passenger experience and healthier and happier citizens.
Public transportation in urban environments is often overcrowded and congested during peak-hours as commuters travel to and from work. Transport providers are increasingly facing difficulties with their demand management. As a result, this creates more discomfort and anxiety for passengers.
Urban Moments helps public transportation providers to reduce overcrowding on their network during peak-times by encouraging and incentivising people to move from public transport to active transport on the streets. It converts users’ number of steps taken as part of their commute automatically into ‘Urban Points’ which they can use to access products, services and experiences at local shops in the city.
Urban Moments increases and rewards active travel behaviours in the city, creating a positive impact on citizens' physical and mental health. Moreover, it works as a platform for local shops to attract new and more customers into their shops.
In collaboration with Jae Sun Park .
Supervised by Neal Stone and Clive Grinyer .
Special thanks to Elin Sjursen from Visa.
