The Service Design Network is an international network of organisations & businesses working in and developing the Service Design domain. Our purpose is to develop and strengthen the knowledge and expertise in the science and practice of innovation and improvement of services. Building a Service Design culture requires cooperation among disciplines, draws upon theories and practices to define a unique body of knowledge capable of addressing all the hard to soft aspects of the service. The SDN aims to develop and establish the Service Design discipline and professional identity.

The Service Design Network was established in 2004 by Köln International School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University, Linköpings Universitet, Politecnico de Milano / Domus Academy and the agency Spirit of Creation. The basic idea was and is to create an international network for and from organizations and institutions dealing with service design in a professional way. The network wants to deepen and spread the knowledge and the expertise in the area of service design in the scientific as well as in the practical area. Today the service.design.network is managed by Prof. Birgit Mager (Köln International School of Design). She is supported by Shelley Evenson (Carnegie Mellon University), Stefan Holmlid (Linköpings Universitet) and Daniela Sangiorgi (Lancaster University).

Today, more than 150 universities, agencies and companies are members of the Service Design Network. With their membership, they support the international development of service design. Building knowledge, connecting people and communicating to the worlds of business, institutions and policy making. We started the network as a rather ad hoc initiative of service design academics: academics with a dream of a strong and influential service design community.

Our dream has led us to create a platform, newsletters, conferences and a regularly published journal. Supported by a young and highly motivated team, working at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, we have connected with many people, both professionals and students.