Exhibiting Service Design: designing the immaterial to communicate to a gallery audience.

This paper describes the creation of a service design exhibition, from two different points of view, that of the service designer, and that of the exhibition designer. The outputs of service design projects are often immaterial, consisting of plans, maps, reports and blueprints that explain complex systems of interventions. Often the design process is highlighted in the traditional presentation methods used to present service design projects, such as conference posters and presentations, while the physical outputs, which could be any number of products, graphics, interfaces, spaces, conversation guidelines, etc. take on a secondary role. Exhibiting service design in a gallery setting requires therefore a redesign not only of the exhibition space, but also of the outputs to be exhibited, so that the exhibition speaks to the viewer in an immediate and meaningful way.

In this paper we discuss three case studies of different service design projects, each requiring different interventions to create a single exhibition that would communicate to a non specialist audience during the London Design Festival.