Redesigning Thinking : How Service Design is Solving Our 21st Century Challenges

The world doesn’t work. But there is a way to make it work – it’s called design.

In Redesigning Thinking, Clive Grinyer discusses service design – the holistic process of managing all the points in a customer’s journey with the provider, from the initial introduction down to the last customer interaction, with the purpose of designing each interaction and experience in a way that is user-friendly and relevant to the customer. He argues that design is a way to think more humanely, to create better business and navigate through complex systems to achieve successful outcomes. Sharing inspirational stories and examples of the power of design from around the world, he explores how service design methods combine data and research to understand how context and creativity can be used as a problem-solving tool to engineer, reframe, and deliver effective solutions and help organizations succeed.

Whether you are a leader in business or in government, a practicing designer looking to use your skills to enhance your impact, or a student keen to use your creativity to improve the prospects of the planet and society, this book will challenge you to change how you think. It will help you make informed decisions and craft products and services designed to create solutions for the people who use them.

"We won''t redesign everything we need to, unless we redesign our thinking. The need for creative problem solvers is greater than ever, so this book is right on time. It is full of examples, insights and tools for navigating the complexities and challenges of our lives today. Clive brings such humanity and warmth to this subject. It should not only be on all designers'' reading lists, it should be part of the school curriculum." -- Minnie Moll, CEO of the Design Council

"Packed full of tips, tricks and insights. This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to redesign and rethink the world, and help us solve the big, complex societal challenges that we face. What impact will you create?" --Professor Alex Hill, Co-founder and Director of the Centre for High Performance

"Clive Grinyer has pioneered design in business, public services and education, and here he is bang on target in arguing that what　 needs redesign is not just things and services, but rather how we think. This engaging and smart book shares many vivid examples of how new ways of thinking can help us understand and better grapple with the problems that surround us. I hope it will encourage a new generation of brilliant designers to use their skills where they''re most needed." --Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London

"Redesigning Thinking couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I’ve worked with Clive over the years, both at the RCA and with clients, and his insights ring true. Design is at a crossroads. Organisations urgently need design to shape the future of their customers, services, and role in their communities—balancing well-being and sustainability with cost, growth, and risk. As AI takes on routine design tasks, Clive makes a compelling case for why the future needs designers who think differently—bringing human insight, powered by empathy, creativity, and ingenuity. Rather than fighting for a seat at the table, designers must redefine their role and scale their impact. Or, as Clive puts it, ‘engineer design, don’t design engineering.’" -- Peter Neufeld, Partner; Head of Customer, Innovation & Experience Design, EMEIA, FSO, EY Seren