Hi I’m Xiaoxue Dong, pronounced as /shiau_shweh/,

a service designer

based in London, working with people around the world.

WHO AM I

A decade ago, I was often asked, 'What is service design?'

Now, I frequently ponder, 'What kind of service designer have I become?'

My career spans consultancy to in-house roles across retail, healthcare, finance, and social services etc. I've worked hands-on with end users and collaborated with industry leaders to drive impact through strategic design.

I believe design brings tangible value and measurable outcomes. As a service designer, I aim to drive positive change in our everyday life.

I CAN HELP YOU WITH…

  • Design begins with inquiry. People are complex, and service systems can be intricate. I assist clients in exploring, analysing, and understanding human behavior with its context. I carefully select and blend the most appropriate research methods that lead us to actionable insights.

  • A north star vision won't travel far without a strategy aligned with business goals. I guide clients in pinpointing the intersection of experiential opportunities and business ambitions. I believe design actions should demonstrate a quantifiable business result, and that improvement of experiences should yield tangible impact.

  • Digital transformation emerges as a facet of broader business evolution. I partner with businesses to translate their customer-centric commitments into actionable strategies. This might range from identifying new operational models that foster business agility and creativity to customising tools and frameworks for heightened team efficiency and responsiveness.

  • Developing CX capabilities isn't about converting everyone into a service designer. Rather, it's about infusing user-centricity and systematic thinking into a company's daily operations. I collaborate with teams to reveal the importance of a user-centered approach in their roles. By providing them with hands-on tools, I aim to elevate their service literacy and strengthen the overall CX confidence across the business.

    • What essential sustainability actions must businesses prioritise?

    • How do we assess inclusivity in new service launches?

    • What are the ethical implications of AI in healthcare?

    These aren't just buzzwords; they represent the inevitable future. They're about foresight, readying ourselves for what's ahead, and harnessing the true potential of design offerings. I engage with these topics deeply in every project work.

SELECTED PROJECTS

A patient and health care professional hold hands

Empower Care
Pioneer Patient-Centric Collaboration for Society

  • The global healthcare brand's current operational methods fall short of effectively engaging HCP partners and patients with both innovation and consistency.

    This project assisted local teams in creating a mutually beneficial collaboration framework for patients, HCPs, and Pharma that can be scaled across various accounts and regions. This framework is accompanied by customized materials and guidance, empowering client teams to embrace patient-centricity and innovation in their daily tasks and to champion transformative organizational approaches to their broader team members.

    • Expert interviews

    • Workshop facilitation

    • Insights validation

    • Problem framing

    • Service Design coaching

Some boxes of shopping packages on the floor, one scarf and a pair of shoes

Join the Dots
Tackle E-Commerce Returns with Cross-Business Solutions

  • The rising "buy-to-try" trend in e-commerce is not only a financial burden on fashion businesses but also an environmental concern.

    In this project, we adopted a comprehensive approach, engaging extensively across business functions. This alignment allowed the business to identify opportunities at every stage, from front-end solutions that guide customers to make accurate initial purchases to the internal revamping of effective and efficient back-end processes. Following our strategic roadmap and prioritisation, dedicated PODs were established to enhance customer experience and coherently reduce returns.

    • Stakeholder interviews

    • Insights analysis and mapping

    • Business prioritisation

    • Research planning and execution

    • Business cases scoping

A red bike in front of a locked store, on the side of a local street in hk

Connect Local
Transform the Go-To-Market approach for end users

  • Large global corporations frequently face a misalignment between their overarching vision and local market implementations.

    To mitigate this challenge, we undertook a four-month, five-phase Transformation project, enhancing our healthcare client's customer experience (CX) capabilities and ensuring a tighter alignment between global strategies and local market nuances. By tailoring our training to cater to the needs of local representatives, we not only streamlined marketing execution but also minimized the reliance on centralized support. Additionally, by integrating service design methodologies into the overall Strategy and Go-To-Market (GTM) process, we have fortified their capacity to identify, prioritise, and scale strategic opportunities.

    • Stakeholder workshops

    • User and expert interviews

    • Tools mock-up and iteration

    • Service design training

    • Account engagement

    • Scope management

Man looking out to sunset, dressed in a luxurious bathrobe and beside a spectacular bath, after getting up from bed to have a cup of tea or coffee

Meet Extraordinary
Refine the Loyalty Ecosystem for Luxury Shoppers

  • As the luxury market grows more saturated and intricate, the profiles of high-end customers get diverse and their expectations surge. Long-established luxury brands grapple with these rising challenges, often hindered by fragmental front-end experience and complex back-end operations.

    The project pushed for a holistic evolution of the loyalty program tailored for elite clienteles. Through collaboration with multidisciplinary stakeholders, we devised a unified loyalty ecosystem proposition and an actionable roadmap. This approach empowers the business to refine the CRM, elevating the front-end experience and ensuring future-ready operational efficiency.

    • Primary and secondary research

    • Data analysis and mapping

    • Stakeholder alignment

    • Vision workshop facilitation

    • Business prioritisation

    • Business cases scoping

A homeless man besides a young man holding a yellow cat

Out-Reach
Illustrate Digital Pathways to Address Rough Sleeping

  • The team was tasked with exploring innovative solutions for the increasing issue of rough sleeping in the West Midlands region of the UK.

    Drawing upon insights from the primary discovery phase and a digital pilot, we articulated a future vision for addressing this social concern. The actionable deliverables included a micro-site designed to enhance communication with citizens, as well as a long-term strategy to synergy an effective and trusted support network. The project has become a starting point to offer rough sleepers a tangible pathway back into society.

    • Citizen interviews

    • Client engagement

    • Workshop facilitation

    • Insights analysis

    • Storytelling

a building with a sign that says emergency in Chinese and English on it

Soft Land
Tailor Healthcare Solutions for Local Landscapes

  • Healthcare as a service, often mirrors the societal context in which it operates. Collaborating with teams across three continents, we supported a global provider of cancer and cardiac services in deciphering the cancer care landscape in Australia, Europe, and, importantly, the less-charted market of China.

    By examining local nuances and juxtaposing them with established markets, we pinpointed gaps and opportunities for localization. This insight proved crucial in crafting a revolutionary digital cancer care proposition tailored for the expansive Chinese market.

    • Field studies

    • HCP and patients interviews

    • Client engagement

    • Workshop facilitation

    • Insights analysis

SELECTED CLIENTS