A diagram illustrating service design concepts. Two horizontal lines represent the 'line of interaction' and 'line of visibility.' Between these lines are three sections: 'customer actions' at the top, 'frontstage actions' in the middle, and 'backstage ac

Learn the Language of Service Design

| 23 min read
418 shares

It’s important to know the terminology of service design so we can fully understand what it is, and so we are able to talk about it in an effective way. Here we’ll hear from different service designers about how they define service design and why a theater is such a fitting metaphor for staging a service experience.

Show Hide video transcript
  1. Transcript loading…

How do the concepts of 'front' and 'back' help you understand the staging of Service Design?

In this interview, David Bill, Service Designer at Booz Allen Hamilton, explains which terminology he uses to differentiate between aspects of a service design that are customer-facing and those that happen behind the scenes. We’ll also learn why the aspects of a service design which happen backstage are crucial to the frontstage service experience.

Show Hide video transcript
  1. Transcript loading…

The frontstage is where customers experience and interact with a service, but behind the line of visibility the backstage plays a crucial role in delivery of the service. As David Bill explains, service designers talk about the 'line of interaction' and the 'line of visibility' to clarify where and how an aspect of a service design impacts customers, staff and business systems. It’s important that we consider both the frontstage and backstage in any kind of service design if we want to be able to deliver a great service experience.

Kudoz Learning Experiences: An Example of Backstage Service Design

Director and Service Design Lead at InWithForward, Jonas Piet provides an example of how the design of backstage actions is crucial to the service experience of the Kudoz learning platform.

Show Hide video transcript
  1. Transcript loading…

References and Where to Learn More

  • Learn more about best practices for service design here.

  • You can read more about the front and backstage of service design here.

Images

Hero illustration: © Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0

Topics in This Article

418 shares

Open Access—Link to us!

We believe in Open Access and the democratization of knowledge. Unfortunately, world-class educational materials such as this page are normally hidden behind paywalls or in expensive textbooks.

If you want this to change, , link to us, or join us to help us democratize design knowledge!

Share Knowledge, Get Respect!

Share on:

or copy link

Cite according to academic standards

Simply copy and paste the text below into your bibliographic reference list, onto your blog, or anywhere else. You can also just hyperlink to this article.

Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. (2024, September 3). Learn the Language of Service Design. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF.

New to UX Design? We're Giving You a Free eBook!

The Basics of User Experience Design

Download our free ebook “The Basics of User Experience Design” to learn about core concepts of UX design.

In 9 chapters, we’ll cover: conducting user interviews, design thinking, interaction design, mobile UX design, usability, UX research, and many more!

A valid email address is required.
315,958 designers enjoy our newsletter—sure you don’t want to receive it?

New to UX Design? We're Giving You a Free eBook!

The Basics of User Experience Design

Download our free ebook “The Basics of User Experience Design” to learn about core concepts of UX design.

In 9 chapters, we’ll cover: conducting user interviews, design thinking, interaction design, mobile UX design, usability, UX research, and many more!

A valid email address is required.
315,958 designers enjoy our newsletter—sure you don’t want to receive it?