About

We are an active research lab based in Copenhagen and part of Aalborg university, dedicated to studying and applying service design. We believe that service design can support an exploratory, co-creative and empowering approach to address broad issues of societal concern. Our key areas of research are service design management and strategy, civic service design, data driven service design.

What we do

We are writing high-profile academic publications on various aspects of design and service design, but that’s not it. We also do the following:

Running one of the oldest and most well-respected Master’s Program in Service Design with a strong research-based component.

Hosting focused spin-off initiatives, such as the OpenDataLab, which explores the potential of big and open data in service design.

Working on small and large scale research projects where service design fosters the collaboration of a variety of stakeholders.

Contributing to academic research by co-authoring papers, reports, articles, books with fellow researchers from all around the world.

Proposing design-based frameworks and methods to empower citizens and other stakeholders in pursuing their innovative endeavors.

Supporting the creation of a community and a network of actors interested in service design in Copenhagen and, more broadly, in Denmark through education, research projects, Service Design Talks, internships, alumni network…

Who we are

The Service Design lab was founded by Nicola Morelli and Amalia De Götzen in 2012. Since then, they have been building up a multidisciplinary and international team. Today the Service Design Lab consists of seven researchers, often joined by students from the Master’s Program in Service Design as temporary team players.

Nicola Morelli

director

Nicola is Professor with Specific Responsibility at Aalborg University (AAU). Nicola has been working on service design for many years and worked in several research projects on service design and innovation, social innovation and user participation. Nicola worked at Politecnico di Milano, at RMIT in Melbourne (Australia). Together with Amalia de Götzen he started the master in Service Systems Design at AAU and contributed to the consolidation of the research group that is now the Service Design Lab. He is coordinating and connecting the research projects of the Lab.

nmor@create.aau.dk
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AMALIA De Götzen
Design researcher

Amalia’s research activity focuses on Digital Social Innovation and in particular on the intersection between Interaction Design and Service Design. She is interested in tools and methods that bridge the analog and digital world of services. She participated to several european projects as investigator and work package leader and has an extensive research experience on Sonic Interaction Design.

ago@create.aau.dk
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LUCA SIMEONE
Design researcher

Luca’s work is situated at the intersection of design practice, research and entrepreneurship. In particular, his interest is in how strategic approaches can support design-based innovation and management processes. He has founded and managed 7 companies and conducted research and teaching activities at universities such as Harvard, MIT, Polytechnic of Milan, Malmö University and University of the Arts London. He (co)authored some 70 publications, including 3 books and articles in journals such as Technovation, R&D Management, Journal of Knowledge Management, Journal of Business Research, Leonardo and Visual Studies.

lsi@create.aau.dk
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Rike Neuhoff

POSTDOC RESEARCHER

Rike is a researcher and educator dedicated to the intersections of design, futures, and strategy, focusing on fostering spaces for contemplation, imagination, and critical thinking. As a Postdoc at the Service Design Lab, she conducts research in the EU-funded ‘Climaborough’ project, collaborating with cities and communities to explore design’s role in shaping sustainable urban futures. Rike also co-chairs the ‘Response-able Design Futures’ working group within the Cumulus Association, a global network for art and design education and research, where she cultivates a community rooted in relational, care-driven approaches to design.

rne@create.aau.dk
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HADAS ZOHAR

phd sTUDENT

Hadas’s design work combines both practice and research, based on her background in visual communication, service design and cultural studies. Before joining the lab, she worked as a graphic designer, design writer and editor and gave talks in Denmark, Sweden and Israel. Hadas’s work was published in various exhibitions and books. At the Service Design Lab, she is focused on the T-factor project.

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María Vitaller del Olmo

PHD STUDENT

With a strong focus on social practices, a cross-disciplinary approach that combines Play Design, Human-Centered Innovation and Education, María aims for improving the living conditions for human beings. Passionate about the potential of play not only as an outcome but also as a steady constant in the design process to connect with stakeholders, she has collaborated with public and private institutions designing interventions, objects or experiences that leverage play to trigger togetherness, spark activism, foster creativity, or generate dialogues that inspire context-rooted concepts. At the Service Design Lab, María is part of the EasyRights and NordicPath projects, where she will contribute to the development of inclusive collaborative ecosystems for sustainable and citizen-centred cities.

mvdo@create.aau.dk

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Christina Lindeberg

PHD STUDENT

Christina has been working for over a decade within the service design industry and has an academic background spanning both design (BDes – The Glasgow School of Art) and management (MSc – Lund University). She has experience of working both as a design consultant and internal designer for organisations within the public sector (e.g. Malmö Stad), private sector (e.g. IKEA) and third sector (e.g. Macmillan Cancer Support). During this time, she has developed a specific interest in exploring how design can improve the necessary public services and will explore this further within the CoDesign4Transitions network through the research question: DC5 Replicating and scaling up different public participation practices for circular transitions.

cmkl@create.aau.dk
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Daniele Dell ‘Orto

PHD STUDENT

Daniele has a background in communication design and a deep interest in the convergence of technical and social perspectives in contemporary issues. The will to contribute to the construction of fair and sustainable relations and ways of living strongly shapes his research. His current work, at the intersection of the Service Design Lab and the Techno Anthropology Lab, focuses on participatory data design as a tool for collaborative knowledge creation in the context of climate assemblies. He is part of the international doctoral network “CoDesign4Transitions”.

ddo@create.aau.dk
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Patricia Csobánczi

RESEARCH Assistant

Patricia is a researcher and design practitioner focusing on biodiversity and food systems through more-than-human design. Combining these themes into a design collective, she co-founded ‘Hopkok Fabrik’, creating experiences for children around food, culture and sustainability across the Nordics. Patricia co-authored a chapter in the publication ‘Post-Normal Design’ edited by Alastair Faud-Luke about a design framework encouraging sustainable food transitions through alternative ingredients. As a Research Assistant at the Service Design Lab, she works on the EU-funded ‘Climaborough’ project, helping to design sustainable cities as well as other projects, such as BC4ECO, which applies blockchain toward environmental causes.

pacs@create.aau.dk

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Janhvi Sampat

Teaching Assistant

Janhvi has a background in Sociology, English Literature and Fashion Design. She is currently a second-year student in the Service Systems Design master programme.

jsampa23@student.aau.dk

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ronald chenú abente acosta

Postdoc Researcher

Ronald is a postdoc on the WeNet project, researching how to apply Semantic Web and AI to make the diversity inherent in behavioral datasets come to the forefront and become useful while respecting each individual’s privacy. Ronald contributed to the development of several applications and technologies during his PhD in Computer Science at the University of Trento and is now very interested in learning about Service Design and Co-design to help those applications become useful products that may bring real value to the lives of its users.

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Jörn Bühring

Visiting Professor

Jörn is advancing a research culture that is cooperative, innovative, and highly impact focused; he currently leads the Ignite Innovation Futures program (PolyU Design) specifically aimed at fostering University-Industry collaborations through tailored program initiatives. His research explores Design Foresight, Vision and Fiction techniques as emerging processes within Strategic Design, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Management.

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Sara Mezei

Research Affiliate

Sara is a recent graduate of the MSc programme in Service Systems Design at Aalborg University. She is currently pursuing a double degree in Nordic Master of Visual Studies and Art Education between Aalto University and Aalborg University. She is passionate about Design Ethics as an instrument for debiasing contemporary and future systems of power. She views interdisciplinarity and critical practice as essentials for making more informed decisions as a designer. At the Service Design Lab, Sara is the co-author of a paper revolving around the topic of „Intention-Setting” utilising reflexivity, introspection, and debiasing techniques.

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Elisa Chavez

research affiliate

G. Elisa Chavez is a design researcher with 18 years of experience in Service Product Marketing & Management, and with a passion for using systemic design to accelerate the transition to electric mobility and other forms of sustainability. She is particularly interested in how policy-level design can facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration between public and private actors.

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Amélia steunou

research Affiliate

Amélia Steunou is a design researcher specialized in intercultural projects. She is passionate about crafting culturally sensitive experiences relevant to specific cultural groups, and her research explores how cultural sensitivity can support a more inclusive future for service design. She has worked on several cross-cultural projects across countries like France, China, Denmark and Mexico. Amélia has a background in intercultural digital studies and service systems design, and currently works as a UX designer in Copenhagen.

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Julia maria podobas

research affiliate

Julia is a graduate of the Service Systems Design MSc program at Aalborg University and holds a BA degree in Design&Business from Copenhagen School of Design and Technology. Julia’s enthusiasm for service design is fueled by the potential for collaborative exploration across diverse domains and with individuals, paving the way for limitless innovation. Her primary area of focus centers on design ethics, particularly the ethical responsibility that designers bear for their creations.

Presently, she is actively involved as a co-author in a paper that delves into the realm of reflexive and introspective practices toward more ethically grounded design and its resultant impacts.

Diana Miinea

research affiliate

Diana is a design researcher who holds an MSc in Service Systems Design from Aalborg University. She sees service and experience design as fields with impactful potential over how social norms, behaviors, and mindsets are built, and hopes for a more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable future. With a passion for future technologies, she believes that data- and technology-driven change can be positive when human-centric. Her research with the lab explores gender sensitivity in the societal transition to a circular economy. Diana currently works as a CX designer in the fintech industry, in Copenhagen.

Tereza Keprdová

research affiliate

Tereza is a design researcher who is interested in exploring various social dimensions of service design projects, especially in the context of transitions to sustainable societies. She is also curious about system thinking and social change – from the policy level down to everyday life. Besides her degree in Service Systems Design, Tereza also holds an MA in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University.
Tereza works in the Swedish public sector as a service designer and project manager.

Francesco Noera

research affiliate

Francesco is a design researcher interested in experimenting new tools and practices: he focuses primarily on designers’ capacity to work reflexively on themselves during design activities. He is also interested in design anthropology, imaginaries in science and technology, and innovation management. Francesco has a background in anthropology, science and technology studies, and service design. Currently, he works as an innovation specialist in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

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