Even I was surprised to find out that I was a designer long before graduating from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design.
When I started my formal education in design, I heard the voice of impostor syndrome in my head, and I even started asking myself: why am I here? I knew my motivations very well and was sure about how I wanted to use what I would learn, but most of my classmates already had the word design in their credentials, and I didn't. They were architects, industrial designers and graphic designers. I had a social sciences background.
However, once the hands-on learning started and I applied what I was learning in every class, I realized that I was bringing many skills to the table: muscle memory I was already using throughout the design process. Here are some examples from projects I led before design school.
Mapping an ecosystem at the Ministry of Foreign Trade
The Ministry of Foreign Trade hired me to build new capacity in the team. As a government office, its Directorate of Investment and Cooperation didn't have much experience in workforce development, a critical theme for Costa Rica's investment climate. They wanted me to support the creation of a work plan for talent development.
One of the deliverables in that process was the talent chapter of the National Semiconductor Roadmap, a plan for how Costa Rica could develop this industry in the future. Just as in a service design process, one of the first steps was to go deep into the macro and micro factors affecting everyone involved: universities, technical and vocational training institutions, government offices, companies, local governments and international partners.
We created a complete ecosystem map, a very diverse and complex one, that helped us identify challenges and opportunities for different groups and individuals. More than 30 organizations took part in the process, from qualitative research to co-creation workshops and prioritization exercises, and finally a plan in which all stakeholders could be involved and represented.
Mapping the customer journey at CINDE
At CINDE, one of the things we did was map our customers' journey. CINDE is a world-renowned investment promotion agency, and its customers are corporations from all over the world, such as IBM, HP, Amazon and Procter & Gamble, among many others. The journey starts when a company identifies Costa Rica as a possible investment destination and goes all the way to the moment it hires people in the country, through investment promotion and the aftercare service CINDE provides.
Part of my job was to map that journey and understand the customer's pain points at each stage. We then used it as a tool to identify opportunities to add value, both as a non-profit organization and as a country, through policy proposals.
People as the main source
Where did those insights come from? Once again, people were our main source. As a service designer, I really enjoy research. Making informed decisions is a big part of what motivates me in my work and in my future as a designer. My team and I did a lot of research and prospecting: quantitative research through statistics, and qualitative research through one-on-one interviews and what we called working groups, essentially focus groups organized by sector and area of expertise, such as technology and HR.
Many times, I was in charge of identifying the key insights. I was, and continue to be, a fierce advocate for initiatives that respond to those opportunity areas and keep people involved throughout the process.
A name for what I was already doing
Now, as a design graduate, I have more practice and knowledge to improve my craft across the design process. But in the end, I know that my experience and flying hours already make me a service designer, one who is eager to keep learning and applying new tools and frameworks to new challenges.