Organisations as material

In this chapter, the authors argue that when service design is introduced into an organization, it is not only the product that is transformed, but also the organization itself. The authors use the term "material" to refer to "that which is being changed" and in this case, it is the organization. The authors draw on their own experiences as design researchers in an organization and combine them with insights from interviews with professional designers and managers to understand the involvement of professional designers and the applied design methods in IT development projects. They argue that the introduction and use of service design artefacts initiates a change in the material, the organization, and explore how these artefacts not only orchestrate a service experience but also support a change in mindset and focus that influences the organization. They show how artefacts simultaneously represent the present 'what is' and propose a future 'what could become' through three distinct but interrelated stages: collecting, abstracting, selecting, and reframing, and anchoring, presenting, and awakening.