The International Company "Steelcase" Partners up with PCA for the "Experience Design Studio" Class
The global leader in office furniture solutions, education and healthcare furniture, Steelcase, has partnered with the Design Management Department at PCA for the “Experience Design Studio” course taught by service and product designer Romaric Le Tiec. The main focus of this project was to refine the customer experience of Steelcase’s furniture recovery program Eco’Services. Using Steelcase’s initial client research as a point of departure, students have researched and developed concepts around the management of information during the client itinerary.
Design Management students have worked closely with the Eco’services team to interview stakeholders and understand users’ needs, for example how efficiently the information circulated between stakeholders, develop a concept to innovate the customer experience and finally, using the storytelling techniques explored during a workshop conducted by Steelcase, present selected concepts to a jury composed of Eco’services management representatives and PCA Design Management Chair and faculty members.
The design thinking and human-centered design methods as well as the sustainable design and business practices learned in the Design Management program also proved to be useful to the project. Students mapped the Eco’ Services’ user experience and highlighted points of improvement.
This business collaboration is one of the many that PCA and the Design Management program seek to foster for pedagogy anchored in real-life issues. Understanding client needs and meeting client deadlines was an important lesson learned that all DM students valued.