Paths, Puddles, Products

On Service design as mediation, on the borders of organizational development, with guest Morten Pedersten.

In this guest episode, Juli, Morten, and guest dog Max hiked around the Hålandsvatnet lake near Stavanger and talked about Scandinavian design and business culture.

The path we took:

• A brief intro to Morten, and the step to leave a management role to build something new;
• How a background in psychology and organizational development can merge with service design;
• A dream Scandinavian company: transparency, open salaries, sharing burdens and ownership at Canoe;
• The Scandinavian design world, with a history of collaboration, flat hierarchies, and government support for design;
• Designers who help and serve vs designers who want to impress;
• Changing definitions and expectations around design work;
• And a brief glimpse into AI, as a mediator between people, not a shortcut to cheaper work.

Further reading:

• https://servicedesignnext.com
• https://www.canoe.no/
• https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/bld/nedsatt-funksjonsevne/norway-universally-designed-by-2025-web.pdf
• Mauricio Manhaes' article in Touchpoint Magazine about Design as Female Characteristics can be downloaded here. Ongoing conversation on the subject on Linkedin can be followed here.

Grab your headphones, and head to the nearest lake to walk with us!

Ps. If you want to chime in, DM us or leave a comment on our Instagram, or find us on Threads - we're @paths.puddles.products and would love your feedback!