The Bloomsbury Handbook of Service Design

Edited by Lara Penin, Alison Prendiville and Daniela Sangiorgi

The image appears to be an abstract background in shades of blue/light blue, characterized by: Soft, blurred geometric shapes (triangles and curves) A layered effect with transparency and gradients No visible text or informative elements

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Service Design: Plural perspectives and a critical contemporary agenda offers a timely and critical reflection on the field of service design, a discipline that has gained increasing relevance both in academia and in industry.

The volume examines the core principles of service design in order to deepen the understanding of the context, role and impact of this practice.

Drawing on a diverse array of service and design scholars and practitioners from around the world, the book gathers multiple voices that share experiences and perspectives on how service design engages with contemporary global issues, including climate change, social justice and racial questions. In doing so, the volume provides a critical review of the themes and intersecting disciplines that are questioning and opening up the field towards plural perspectives, highlighting its complexity, exposing its challenges and offering practical examples and directions for future development.

The image is a conceptual map titled “Emerging Themes” organized in a circular layout, showing key areas shaping contemporary service design and related disciplines. Around the circle are nine main thematic clusters, each with subtopics.
Clustering of emerging themes, principles and content structure for the handbook. Source: authors.

In response to the sense of powerlessness that may arise when facing the increasing complexity of the systems within which design operates, the editors emphasize the need to weave together alternative design frames and narratives. The aim is to enrich the disciplinary toolbox and refresh viewpoints. In this perspective, the handbook seeks to reorient the discipline towards more sustainable and meaningful directions by offering different theoretical frames and critical agendas capable of informing practical approaches and future perspectives.

The image represents a conceptual model of the evolution of design, organized along two dimensions: horizontal (time/vision) and vertical (level of design intervention). * From short term to long term (from operational to strategic) * From “design of” to “design from within” (from designing individual services to transforming systems from within)
Positioning of service and Systemic Design perspectives and approaches considering how emergence and the development of a vision for change are adopted in practice. Source: co-authors.

The book is organised into five main sections exploring key topics within the field of service design:

  1. Plural Service & Design Cosmologies,
  2. A Critical Agenda for Service Design,
  3. Contextualising Services, Systems and Change,
  4. Developing Service Design Practices and Approaches,
  5. Building Futures.

The volume is available on Bloomsbury website.

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