In October 2015 I arrived in Italy to study Strategic Design at Politecnico di Milano.
This project was a study exercise in service design.
Research and analysis part was done in a group, and after that each of us had to develop an individual service proposition.
My group chose Eataly.
We analysed the businness model of Eataly and created 3 extreme personas to find issues and possibilities. I took one of them to develop the customer journey.
Vittoria is attentive to details and curious, and she appreciates having such resource of information as farmers, available for a chat right in a store. Bookshop and communicated by the store layout quality of products makes an impression on her.
Nevertheless, she is stressed out by the nesessity to have an eye on her kids, the checkout queue, and the view of “unhealthy food” (as a strict vegan she can’t stand the amount of prosciutto hanging from the ceiling)
When the individual work started, I had two possibilites:
– problem solving: long queue, lack of places for children, store layout etc.
– or use the “the gut feeling” approach, learnt in Italian Design class: to shift the prospective, to go for theintuition, ideas which are not clear but evoke real emotions.
So what is out there?
I did an overview of consumption trends which I felt relevant and promising: movement to tangible, Slow Life, Co-creation and Mindfulness. Then I converted them in the list of values, which can be applied to Eataly brand and which the developed persona would appreciate.
Being put in one container, they resulted in Eataly Lab service proposition.
The proposition is the temporary space in the shop, where people can try new products, experiment, share experience and relax.
In the huge space of the shop its easy to feel yourself a child again, to uncover one’s own curiosity and creative approach. In the customer journey above, the goal behind all Victoria’s actions is to have quality time with her kids.
Instead of just providing supplies, Eataly can propose a space for it.
Service system map
Actors map
This project was an opportunity to learn the service design tools and a different way of thinking. I experimented with presentation of the mind map, service system and actors maps: they are directed outside-in, in attempt to convey sensual experience, illustrate the “inner kitchen” metaphor.
