Service Design in Belgium, an interview with Stina Vanhoof

We asked Stina, a Service Designer working in Belgium [her/his] thoughts about the evolution of Service Design in her country. A big thank you to Stina for her insights:

How would you describe the state of service design today? How's the maturity level of service design in Belgium? Is the term known, used?

In Belgium, larger organizations are mostly familiar with the term Service Design, both public and private. However, the digital design department or the marketing department knows the tools and are working with service designers.

Unfortunately, not the whole organization is familiar with Service Design. Therefore, tackling an end-to-end customer experience is still a big challenge.

What was the state of service design a few years ago in Belgium?

As far as I remember, it was ten years ago when the first Service Design agencies started popping up here in Belgium. A couple of years later, the Flemish government launched a call for Service Design to improve federal and Flemish service.

This call allowed different agencies to support the government in their quest for user-centered services. At the same time, banks were hiring service designers to digitize their services to their customers. Many product design agencies have broadened their skillset to User Experience (UX) and Service Design.

What are the big changes that you see for the future of Service Design Belgium?

I can see the growth of the Service Design industry in Belgium in the future. Larger organizations are adopting the Service Design mindset and tools. They will soon hire in-house service designers. The agencies will become advising experts that train in-house teams.

At the same time, service designers should take part in the more strategic decision making and should take their seat at the management table. This would be a great evolution to make in the coming years.

Should people look for service design jobs rather in big agencies, small studios, or in the house? Or maybe in specific industries? Where do you feel there are more opportunities for service designers in Belgium?

There are opportunities in Belgium for service designers in all types of organizations - agencies of service delivery organizations, government, or private. The rising topics are sustainability and the more complex societal challenges that can be tackled more systematically. The service design approach will be applied to these more complex systems.

What are great opportunities to learn Service Design in Belgium?

Here in Belgium, there are specific courses relevant to Service Design, such as Space and Service Design Course and Experience Architect Postgraduate Course

There are also available training courses from  Knight Moves, Namahn, and Studio Dott

If I'm looking for a job opportunity as a service designer, what are the key cities that offer such opportunities in Belgium?

As a service designer, key cities in Belgium that can offer opportunities are Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent.

What are the leading companies that use Service Design in Belgium?

Personally, the companies I know that use Service Design here in Belgium are Knight Moves, Studio Dott, Namahn, Achilles Design, Bpost, Colruyt, and financial institutions.

What are the local Service Design communities in Belgium

We have the Belgian chapter of the Service Design Network, which has a linkedIn group.
We also have meetups occasionally. Check this link for more details on our events.