"This company has always been a 'legendary presence' in my mind, a benchmark that inspires me in the industry." This is how Cathy Huang, founder of CBi China Bridge, described Livework Studio, the world’s first service design firm. Last Friday (August 9), this "legendary" company made a surprise appearance at CBi. Luis Alt, co-founder and partner of Livework Studio, traveled halfway across the globe from Brazil to Shanghai to join the CBi Service Design Salon (SDN SH Meetup), marking one of the longest physical journeys in the history of service design collaboration.

Luis Alt: A Trailblazer in Service Design

As a partner at Livework Studio, Luis Alt established the firm's Brazil branch, introducing service design to South America for the first time and becoming a leading evangelist in the region. He launched Latin America’s first design thinking course and authored the bestseller “Brazilian Design Thinking”, the first-ever design thinking book published in Portuguese, which significantly advanced the discipline's reach and impact. For this special occasion, co-hosted with SDN Global Service Design Network Shanghai, Luis Alt shared cutting-edge service design insights and business strategies with guests from industry leaders like LVMH, Shanghai Foreign Service Group, and Tongji University.  

01 Revealing the Secrets: Service Design Award Evaluation Framework

If you’ve ever participated in a service design competition, you may have noticed that 99% of competitions lack a transparent and systematic evaluation framework. In Luis’ view, many services fail to fully implement as planned or neglect a genuine user perspective, making it challenging to measure the success of service design projects quantitatively. Luis recently served as a judge for the “2024 HOME+ International Service Design Competition,” China’s first competition focused on service systems for the home. Alongside Cathy Huang, he evaluated submissions as part of the judging panel. Luis, a seasoned judge for numerous international service design awards, has chaired the SDN Global Service Design Awards for three consecutive years. During the Meetup, he shared his five-dimensional evaluation framework for service design projects:

1. Challenges

  • What problems or challenges does the project address?
  • How difficult are these challenges?
  • What is their global relevance?
  • How critical are they to the organization?

2. Methodology

  • How does the project uncover user needs?
  • How are stakeholders engaged in co-creation?
  • What was the execution process?
  • What tools or methods were used to convey design ideas, workflows, and results?

3. Outcomes

  • How does the project impact organizational transformation?
  • How effectively has the project been implemented?
  • What are its originality and level of innovation?

4. Submissions

  • How is the concept visualized?
  • How compelling is the storytelling through videos or prototypes?
  • Is the project’s message clearly articulated?

5. Bonus

  • Did the project solve the organization’s challenges?
  • How sustainable are the results?
  • Did the project adhere to ethical standards?
 

02 Service Design: The Engine of Organizational Transformation

Unlike many service design veterans who advanced through specialized academic and professional backgrounds, Luis Alt began his career in engineering design. Discovering service design at Livework Studio was transformative, leading him to pivot and become a leader in service design innovation within the commercial domain. Luis has spearheaded numerous innovation and service design projects for global giants such as Itaú Bank, LATAM Airlines, Whirlpool, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Petrobras, Natura, and Roche Pharmaceuticals. His experience has reinforced his belief that service design is a critical engine for organizational transformation. Many companies focus solely on visible outcomes, such as project implementation or short-term measurable results. However, Luis emphasized that good outcomes require well-designed services, which in turn depend on deeply understanding user needs to generate long-term value. Service design is not limited to front-end experiences visible to users; it also encompasses the back-end organizational structures that remain hidden. Businesses must integrate these dimensions—leveraging front-end touchpoints to drive back-end transformation and vice versa.  

03 The Future: Everything Is a Service

In Luis’ view, the future lies in “Everything is a service.” Service design leverages professional methodologies—empathy, co-creation, and execution—to guide organizations toward sustainable growth. With technological advancements, service design has transitioned from Human-to-Human (H2H) services to AI-to-Human (A2H) services. Luis highlighted the unprecedented opportunities for service design to integrate with AI, creating mutual benefits and unlocking new possibilities.

AI + Service Design: Bridging Innovation

To address these opportunities, the CBi Service Design Salon collaborated with AI innovation leader Rolling AI to host a groundbreaking AI + Service Design Business Innovation Workshop. The event demonstrated how AI tools could enhance service design methodologies, improve user experiences, create differentiation, and foster business model innovation.

CBi Service Design Salon: A Hub for Cross-Industry Collaboration

The CBi Service Design Salon serves as an open platform for cross-disciplinary collaboration, connecting global and domestic industry leaders, academics, and innovators. Notable guests have included Birgit Mager, President of the Global Service Design Network, and Yong Se Kim, professor at Tongji University’s College of Design and Innovation. CBi will continue to welcome new partners, fostering groundbreaking discussions and collaborations in service design. Stay tuned for more surprises!