Creating Better Services with Design Research and the role of AI

In this practical, hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to use design research to create frictionless services that genuinely meet the needs of users.
- From: Thursday 17 July 2025, 6 pm
- To: Thursday 17 July 2025, 8 pm
- Location: BJSS Nottingham, Fothergill House, King Street, Nottingham, NG1 2AS
- Booking deadline: Thursday 17 July 2025, 6.00 pm
- Download this event to your calendar
Event details
It’s easy to get Service Design wrong - we’ve all come across terrible, frustrating services that send us around in circles and make life harder rather than easier.
So how has the UK government managed to create award-winning services that actually do what they need to do?
The answer lies in the first and most important Government Design Principle: Start with User Needs. It is the relentless focus on understanding users that allows truly great service design to happen.
The workshop will cover:
- How to use research to shape and inform service design
- What design research involves - processes, methods, approaches
- Where AI can (and can’t) help
- A practical example that illustrates the key steps in a project
Who should come along?
If you’re a Service Designer, a founder, work in the public sector or an organisation eager to innovate, this session is for you.
We’ll provide a fun, interactive experience and equip you with practical strategies for combining the best of AI and human insight in your design research.
Join us to discover how to create better services, not just with the latest tools, but with a thoughtful, people-first approach.
About the speaker
Frances Brown, CEO of Nightingale Design Research
Nightingale Design Research was founded by Frances and Michael Brown, two psychologists with a background in human computer interaction and human factors.
Since 2016, the Nightingale team has worked with a wide range of organisations,including the NHS, LEGO, the Irish Health Service Executive, Silktide, Commify and the Department for Education, providing qualitative and quantitative research to shape the design of successful products that fit the needs of users.
They have also provided training and support to startups and scale-ups in partnership with Nottingham Trent University and Birmingham City University, giving founders and teams the skills and knowledge they need to turn ideas into commercially viable products ready for growth. The team also runs a quarterly free event for founders, researchers, designers and innovators called Design and Innovation Nottingham - DiNG.
Location details
Address:
Fothergill House
King Street
Nottingham
NG1 2AS