Investigating service design education in the Asia Pacific to support societal transitions

Service design is a critical practice for supporting societal transitions, as it centres human experiences in services that can help people navigate complex economic, ecological and socio-cultural challenges. However, challenges like climate change are demanding innovation in services, including how service design is practised and taught. This paper investigates how service design has developed in the Asia Pacific and whether it has the capacity to support societal transitions. We propose a framework that maps the expansion of the service design methodology across four phases, centring on interaction design and tracing the development of designers’ skillsets into co-design, systemic service design and social innovation. We highlight the potential for societal-level impact at this expanded level, drawing on Asia-Pacific examples where services have been redesigned to improve cultural and environmental outcomes. We then examine how service design is being taught in the region, analysing course descriptions against the proposed framework to identify exemplary curricula. A case study of a social and service innovation course in Sydney, Australia, provides deeper insight into the educational components essential for designing services in the context of climate adaptation, including a live problem context, studio learning and ethical engagement with diverse participants.