The Practice
Service design isn't just about making things look better—it's about making them work properly for the people who actually use them.
Discover
Too often, Service Designers only join after direction is set—missing the chance to influence framing. Inception beats discovery every time.
How I Work
I get in early to shape the problem, not just the solution. I focus on busting assumptions and challenging what stakeholders think they know before those beliefs become entrenched. Through assumption workshops, stakeholder mapping, and strategic questioning, I create space to examine whether we're solving the right problem at all.
Core Principle:
Inception > Discovery
Shape the problem, not just the solution
The Impact
Embedding Service Design early doesn't just shape outputs—it shapes outcomes. Strategic clarity emerges instead of just specs and firefighting.
Define
Getting to shared understanding takes conversations, collaboration, and exploration. Even if you never create the formal output, these steps hold immense value.
How I Work
I bring together stakeholders and subject matter specialists to uncover hidden pain points through meaningful conversations. Sometimes market sensitivity means we can't talk directly to users, so I work around these barriers by leveraging internal expertise, proxy data, and stakeholder insights to build deep understanding of user needs and business goals.
Core Principle:
Process Over Deliverables
The journey of discovery and understanding IS the destination, not just a means to an end
The Impact
Shared pain clarity, mitigation before failure, operational alignment. Teams unite across disciplines, surface assumptions, and highlight where they fail.
Design
Creating flexible outputs tailored to the team and context—not just documents. Sometimes a traditional blueprint isn't the right output at all.
How I Work
I enable UX teams to get involved early through rapid prototyping and collaborative design. We create a narrative of understanding that shows what the north star could look like, then iterate from the As-Is state with development teams engaged from the start. This reduces the risk of big bang implementations by building confidence through tangible, testable solutions that everyone understands.
Core Principle:
Collaborate Early, Iterate Together
UX and development teams building understanding from the start
The Impact
Services become intuitive and genuinely helpful instead of frustrating obstacles. People can actually accomplish what they came to do without fighting the system.
Deliver
What matters most is creating shared clarity that drives action and change. Don't get stuck thinking the blueprint is the only sign of success.
How I Work
I navigate the tension between business-driven agendas and user needs, often fighting for manual process improvements that don't sound exciting but create real value. I get development teams involved in the process, sharing openly and letting them have a voice about what's technically possible. Being that bridge between teams—even if by proxy—is hugely important for successful delivery.
Core Principle:
Change Over Artefacts
Implementation is where real value gets created
The Impact
Data is always king—more things flowing through the system, more value attributed to actions, not always directly aligned to business metrics but equally important. I help teams avoid chasing fashionable outcomes and educate that your users aren't the same as your competitors. Why should they use you over someone else? Turn your systems into your USP.
TL;DR
Discover
Challenge assumptions and shape problems early
Define
The process IS the value, not just deliverables
Design
Bring all teams together from the start
Deliver
Navigate tensions, create competitive advantages
What People Say
"He is not only a valuable team member and accomplished practitioner in his field - he's a true pro who sees the bigger picture and is willing and able to adapt approaches to fit with a busy schedule of activities from tactical quick wins to framing and informing the more complex narratives."
Dax Ellmer
Service & Digital Product Designer
"One of the qualities that really sets him apart is his leadership skills, Brent has educated a lot of the cinch tribes and executives on service design and how it should be applied and used to its best ability, supporting our other service designers along the way. He can rally cross-functional teams, create a shared vision, foster collaboration, story tell the most complicated spaces and inspire new ideas."
Amelia Johnson
Lead UXD at Lloyds Banking Group, ex Cinch
The Philosophy
Service design isn't about following a rigid process—it's about knowing when to break it. The best outcomes come from understanding people, fostering collaboration, and focusing on change that actually happens.