Hey nice to meet you, my name is Marc.

When I published the first episode of the Service Design Show back in 2016 I never imagined that it would grow to what it is today...

A place where professionals who are passionate about building organisations that put people at the heart of their business come together. 

On the Show you'll find inspirational interviews, practical tips and in-depth courses to help you level up your service design skills.

If you feel that you belong to this community consider subscribing to our YouTube channel, Instagram account or podcast (Spotify / iTunes).

How did we get here?

Back in 2007 I co-founded 31Volts. The first service design agency in the Netherlands.

To be honest I had no real clue back than what service design was. But what immediately resonated with me was the human centered approach.

If anything my software engineering background quickly taught me that I don't want to spend my life creating the perfect solution which people don't really care about.

Marc Fonteijn

So it made a lot of sense to start by understanding the needs of the people you're designing for.

Let's start a YouTube channel...

So let me take you back to 2016. It was the year when a major service design conference was heading to the Netherlands.

And like a lot of stories this one starts out over coffee.

I was chatting with Marcel (the co-founder of 31Volts) how the best conversations at conferences happen during the breaks, over lunch and dinners. 

These are the moments you remember after the event. These are the moments that spark new ideas. These are the moments where you make new friends.

If you've been to a conference I'm sure you recognise this.

The big problem is that most of us can't travel the world to visit conferences all the time. So while enjoying the best French press in town I wondered if we could hack the system...

Could we have more of these conversations without the overhead of actually having to attend a conference?

We've always been playing around with video in our service design projects. 

So when we added that to the equation... the idea for a YouTube channel was born.

That same afternoon I reached out to a bunch of people to see if they'd be open for a light hearted chat with me. And when a few replied within minutes I knew I had a new calling 🙂

Connecting a global community

What started out as an excuse learn to from inspiring people without having to travel the world eventually grew into a true global community.

I've been extremely lucky to get some true legends to appear on the Show and share their stories with you.

But I see it as my mission to also shine a light on people who do great work but live in the shadows and don't make it onto the stage.

For me their stories are essential to reflect the diverse nature of the service design field.

I want to finish with something my friend Luis Alt said in his interview.

"We really get to design a better world. Few people get to say that."

To me the Service Design Show is the campfire 🔥

It would be great if you come and join us!

All the best,
- Marc