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Learn to design unique user-centered experiences by applying design thinking in service development.

Description of the curriculum

  • Edition: 5th
  • Teaching period: from October 2025 to June 2026. Final master's project presentation: June 2026
  • Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Modality: on-site
  • Language: English
  • Price: 10.030 €
  • Qualification: Master's Degree in Service Design awarded by the UVic-UCC
  • Credits: 60 ECTS

Presentation

The digitization of the environment has led to an increasing number of products being associated with complementary services. The service economy now accounts for more than 70% of the world's GDP, creating the need to manage all the actors involved in the provision of a service. It requires a perspective where the user is at the center of the service design itself. For this reason, Service Design emerges as a unifying discipline for many professional profiles dedicated to planning and organizing both people and infrastructures,communication and materials that make up a service.

The Master in Service Design provides the tools to improve an existing service or to simply create a new one. It will begin by contextualising design as a transformative tool and by considering products as services that satisfy needs. It will delve into branding and the omnichannel experience of customers before finally guiding students through all the stages of designing a service: initial research, ideation, prototyping, implementation and, ultimately, evaluation. The course, in addition to laying the theoretical foundations, will focus closely on the practical reality of the professional world.

The Master’s Degree in Service Design provides the tools to improve an existing service or to simply create a new one. It will begin by contextualising design as a transformative tool and by considering products as services that satisfy needs. It will delve into branding and the omnichannel experience of customers before finally guiding students through all the stages of designing a service: initial research, ideation, prototyping, implementation and, ultimately, evaluation. The course, in addition to laying the theoretical foundations, will focus closely on the practical reality of the professional world.

Syllabus

Module 1 - Design as a strategic element

Understanding how design can contribute value to the organisation from a variety of perspectives and learning how to establish a link between corporate strategy and design appraisal.

  • Introduction and General Concepts
  • Evolution of mindset and human needs
  • The current context and the importance of users
  • Introduction to design thinking
  • Exploration of user-centered methodologies
  • Business Model Canvas
  • Types of strategies
  • Tools for strategy
  • Innovation Profiles
  • Social and market trends

Module 2 - Service Dominant logic

Tangible and intangible goods produce a service as a benefit for the users and actors involved. We will examine the characteristics of products and compare them with those of services. We will also work on service logic in marketing, which unites products and services within a common paradigm.

  • Introduction to Service-Dominant Logic: Product versus Service; prior context (IHIP) and the new paradigm (SD-L)
  • Concepts of value co-creation, value constellation, value-in-use and value-in-context through specific case studies
  • Exercises identifying value proposition and servitization
  • Example: servitization of a manufacturing company

Module 3 - Interaction

Interaction will be addressed from a holistic perspective, rather than Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) alone, allowing students to learn to consider the system and how different interactions are generated.

  • Design and interaction: communication over time and space, with objects and machines, among people, with screens and with voice
  • Introduction to UX design and information architecture
  • Identify requirements: types of content, restrictions, levels of depth
  • User behavior
  • Content flows and user journey
  • Basic principles of interaction design
  • Design ethics

Module 4 - Disruptive innovation and ideation

This module will take an introspective approach to creativity. We will analyse the way we think, evaluate the mechanisms of thought and help foster creative thinking.

  • Introduction and general concepts
  • The importance of disruption
  • The creative objective
  • Rethinking creativity
  • Generating disruptive ideas
  • Hybridization
  • Transversality
  • System Thinking
  • Creativity in innovation
  • Co-creation
  • Group techniques for idea generation

Module 5 - Branding and customer experience (CX)

Service design can be an invaluable tool to create a shared framework for the communication tone and strategy of a brand so it can be implemented across all channels and with all relevant teams. We will develop an understanding of how a brand is built, what defines it and how it forms part of the customer experience, in addition to gaining an appreciation of the omnichannel dimension of brands.

  • What is a brand and how is it built?
  • Branding as a tool for customer experience.
  • Branding and Service Design.
  • Branding strategy and positioning.
  • Implementation and impact of branding management in the company

Module 6 - Design research

The goal is to develop fundamental skills in specialised service research, with the aim of understanding current offers, existing resources, and points for improvement and latent opportunities.

  • Introduction to research for Service Design
  • In-depth interviews
  • User research
  • Contextual research
  • Analysis of the generated information
  • Facilitation of co-creation sessions
  • Generating insights toward a value proposition

Module 7 - Prototyping

Building the skills and acquiring the techniques to prototype experiences and services, with the aim of reducing uncertainty and enabling experimentation with ideas that are in development.

  • Customer Journey Map
  • Prototyping techniques for both physical and digital services
  • Learning plan with hypotheses and definition of metrics
  • Final report with learnings from the prototypes

Module 8 - Organisational transformation

To work on organizational transformation, concepts will be explored through theoretical and practical classes. A challenge will be articulated based on case studies and fictional cases simulating the work of defining an organizational culture.

  • Theoretical concepts and case framing
  • Definition of the stakeholder map
  • Fundamentals of participatory design: exploration of the method "design conversations”
  • Definition of legacies and design of the culture map
  • Concept of infrastructuring. Mapping of material and social structures
  • Identification of levers of change and initial mapping of the workflow

To work on future design, systems and transitions, we will develop another workshop where future stakeholders related to data extraction, management and exploitation will be explored, along with their political, economic and cultural consequences.

Module 9 - Master's Degree Final Project

The Master’s Final Project (MFP) is the last project of the Master and integrates all theknowledge and skills acquired during the course. The MFP combines all the processes and tools worked during the Master in a single project and process.

During the development of the MFP, the students will put into action all their skills for designing services at a professional level, with special emphasis on proposing solutions based on creativity and innovation.

  • Strategic Design
  • Research
  • Disruptive Innovation
  • Prototyping
  • Branding
  • Business Model Canvas
  • Organizational Transformation.
See all the projects

Teachers

Sandra Bosch, Specialist in Brand Strategy, Service Design and Customer Experience
Marta Aymerich, Expert in Creativity, Innovation and Talent

Marta Aymerich

Expert in Creativity, Innovation and Talent

Andreu Belsunces, Sociologist of design and technology

Andreu Belsunces

Sociologist of design and technology

Neus Benages, Graphic Designer. Specialist in Visual Thinking

Neus Benages

Graphic Designer. Specialist in Visual Thinking

Sandra Bosch, Specialist in Brand Strategy, Service Design and Customer Experience

Sandra Bosch

Specialist in Brand Strategy, Service Design and Customer Experience

Gemma Busquets, Graphic designer and art director. Internet infographics and digital experiences

Gemma Busquets

Graphic designer and art director. Internet infographics and digital experiences

Marta Domingo, Design + Business Strategist in Advanced Design

Marta Domingo

Design + Business Strategist in Advanced Design

Luciana Leveratto, Strategy, methodology and innovation specialist

Luciana Leveratto

Strategy, methodology and innovation specialist

Susana Mondejar, Specialist in team management, co-creation, creativity and innovation.

Susana Mondejar

Specialist in team management, co-creation, creativity and innovation.

Ethan Parry, UX designer and researcher

Ethan Parry

UX designer and researcher

Marc Roca, Service designer. Design research

Marc Roca

Service designer. Design research

Alessia Rullo, Design Research & CX Strategy

Alessia Rullo

Design Research & CX Strategy

Marc Segarra, Creative & Strategy Consultant

Marc Segarra

Creative & Strategy Consultant

Clara Subirats, HP Inc. Advanced Design Director

Clara Subirats

HP Inc. Advanced Design Director

Bernadett Sztanó, Design Strategist, Service Designer

Bernadett Sztanó

Design Strategist, Service Designer

Javier Tejedor, Strategic Designer, Facilitator and Design Thinker

Javier Tejedor

Strategic Designer, Facilitator and Design Thinker

Lourenço Viana, Head of Research at Mango

Lourenço Viana

Head of Research at Mango

Career opportunities

  • Service designer
  • Product manager
  • Brand manager
  • Strategic designer
  • Design researcher

Associated company

The master in Service Design is linked to the Service Design College - an international service design network. It brings together more than 1,500 professionals and organises training and events on Service Design in order to prepare new agents of change, creators, activators and supporters of positive progress aiming to connect companies with people.

Collaborating companies

In previous editions the master's degree has collaborated with:

Leroy Meriln

Eix Comercial del Poblenou

Admission and enrolment

Pre-enrolment and Admission

To apply for a master’s or postgraduate program at BAU, you must request your admission through the pre-enrolment process. Each application is evaluated by the program’s academic coordination team to balance the group composition and provide high-quality training.

BAU's master's and postgraduate programs have limited spots. The pre-enrolment process is carried out through admission rounds and remains open until all available spots are completed. Therefore, we recommend applying early to ensure your place in the program.

For detailed information on the required documents, the admission rounds and the steps to follow, please check the enrolment process for a master’s or postgraduate program.

Enrolment

Once the admission is confirmed, you will receive an email with the result and the instructions to complete your enrolment and confirm your place.

Two payment options are offered:

  • Single payment (2% discount).
  • Payment in 3 installments, with no additional charges.

Check here for full details on payment options and for scholarships and grants.

BAU students and alumni who have completed at least 50% of the credits for the Bachelor's Degree, Higher Degree in Design, or Graphic Design Diploma, or 100% of the credits for a Master’s or Postgraduate program, will receive a 10% discount.

Academic regulations for Masters and Postgraduate Degrees of BAU.

Download the brochure

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