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Service Design (MA)

Natsumi Tabusa

about-Natsumi Tabusa

After working at a chemical company, where I was involved in management accounting and business planning, I joined a start-up company in the traditional crafts industry as the general manager of the west Japan division.

I have developed new services and businesses throughout my ten-year career using traditional manufacturing techniques of handicrafts such as weaving, pottery, woodworking, etc.

Various projects include launching a retail shop in Kyoto, planning new rooms in hotels, operating a repair service for broken dishes and organising workshops for children and adults.

Born in Japan, Osaka, in 1988. She graduated from Kobe University in Japan with BA in Cultural Studies. 

Show Location: Kensington campus: Darwin Building, Lower ground floor

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As local culture is getting lost under globalisation, my aim is to achieve a culturally rich lifestyle and society by implementing transformative experiences for customers in everyday services.

I believe that service design will change how people see, choose and enjoy everyday products which are strongly related to vernacular nature and history.


Keywords:

Transformative Design / Learning Experience / Conscious Consumption / Experiential Learning / Behavioural Change

(Favihome) — Favihome is a couples' platform offering experiences to choose favourite home products. Both online sessions and offline events are designed based on users' 12 categories of values.
(Favihome) — Favihome is a couples' platform offering experiences to choose favourite home products. Both online sessions and offline events are designed based on users' 12 categories of values.
(Our Philosophy) — We transform consumers' shopping habits from overconsumption to living with their favourites, achieving both the quality of life for individuals and the sustainability for the plane
(Our Philosophy) — We transform consumers' shopping habits from overconsumption to living with their favourites, achieving both the quality of life for individuals and the sustainability for the planet.
(Why couples?) — Need to update way of choosing things with their partner and we want to leverage the opportunity to form a new habit.
(Why couples?) — Need to update way of choosing things with their partner and we want to leverage the opportunity to form a new habit.
(Product Category) — We focus on home products, which are durable and used at home with partners.
(Product Category) — We focus on home products, which are durable and used at home with partners.
(Research) — People have different priorities when choosing home products which cause many conflicts with their partner.
(Research) — People have different priorities when choosing home products which cause many conflicts with their partner.
(Research) — We intervene before buying many home products that couples might have to live with for decades.
(Research) — We intervene before buying many home products that couples might have to live with for decades.
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Collaborators: Jiayi Wang

Partners: Lionsgate Property Management, Replenish Earth

Behaviour ChangeConsumptionSustainabilityTransformationWellbeing
(Cultural holistay) — Voorpret is a service that provides a cultural exchange within one city without travelling afar. It is set out to push the future of the holiday mindset.
(Cultural holistay) — Voorpret is a service that provides a cultural exchange within one city without travelling afar. It is set out to push the future of the holiday mindset.
(Enjoy Cultural Experience without Traveling) — The main feature of this service would be to provide short itineraries promoting the authentic culture of the user’s chosen city of interest in their lo
(Enjoy Cultural Experience without Traveling) — The main feature of this service would be to provide short itineraries promoting the authentic culture of the user’s chosen city of interest in their local area.
(Immersive Experience) — The itineraries will be an immersive package of diverse experiences that last for half or one day, giving a bite-size taste of another city's culture.
(Immersive Experience) — The itineraries will be an immersive package of diverse experiences that last for half or one day, giving a bite-size taste of another city's culture.
(User Testing) — We have prototyped with 6 participants on a short Tokyo experience and they have shown a great interest in this type of experience.
(User Testing) — We have prototyped with 6 participants on a short Tokyo experience and they have shown a great interest in this type of experience.

Collaborators: Hancong Liu, Shitong Chen, Riddhima Ramnani, Alessandro Castorino

Partners: Replenish Earth


Behaviour ChangeCultureLocalTransformation
(Vision - Building capability for financial sustainability) — Vision is an end-to-end service that helps people effectively manage their savings and start making investments to build a financially sus
(Vision - Building capability for financial sustainability) — Vision is an end-to-end service that helps people effectively manage their savings and start making investments to build a financially sustainable future.
(Background and Research) — As an outcome of exploratory research, we identified three user mindsets - ‘Spend it All’, ‘Intense Saver’ and ‘Visionary Investor’.
(Background and Research) — As an outcome of exploratory research, we identified three user mindsets - ‘Spend it All’, ‘Intense Saver’ and ‘Visionary Investor’.
(Identified Mindsets) — We decided to focus on the ‘Intense Savers’ as we found cash piling to be a significant issue for the individuals as well as the larger economy.
(Identified Mindsets) — We decided to focus on the ‘Intense Savers’ as we found cash piling to be a significant issue for the individuals as well as the larger economy.
(Service Interfaces - Vision) — We introduce Vision, which is a service that shifts user’s mindsets to understand the need for investing, and enables them with necessary tools and information to start
(Service Interfaces - Vision) — We introduce Vision, which is a service that shifts user’s mindsets to understand the need for investing, and enables them with necessary tools and information to start making investments.

Collaborators: Debby Hsiao, Swathi Muralidharan, Wei Huang

Partners: EY Seren


Behaviour ChangeDesign ResearchFinancial ServicelearningTransformation
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Collaborators: Alexander Roy Schwedler, Ilayda Kal, Matrika Bhandari, Maxime Khaski

Partners: International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., ISIPCA

Design productExperimentalMaterial Research
(Show & Tell about Handcrafts) — Organised an online workshop as one of the official events of AcrossRCA, an annual interdisciplinary week taking place across the College. It aimed to design a learnin
(Show & Tell about Handcrafts) — Organised an online workshop as one of the official events of AcrossRCA, an annual interdisciplinary week taking place across the College. It aimed to design a learning experience for participants to transform their view of their daily products.
(Online Workshop) — The sessions provided an opportunity to learn about and share a range of processes and techniques of handcrafts from others who have different backgrounds, cultures and interests.
(Online Workshop) — The sessions provided an opportunity to learn about and share a range of processes and techniques of handcrafts from others who have different backgrounds, cultures and interests.

Collaborators: Henrietta Dent, Aadya Chachra

Partners: Across RCA


ConsumerismHandcraftlearningWorkshop
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Royal College of Art

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Kensington Gore, South Kensington,
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