The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD)

The vision for the Scottish Approach to Service Design is that the people of Scotland are supported and empowered to actively participate in the definition, design and delivery of their public services (from policy making to live service improvement).


What we mean by design

There are lots of different kinds of design - for example, graphic design, content design, interior design and product design.

What they all have in common, is that people who work in these fields take time to understand the problem they’re faced with from a range of perspectives, before they create a solution.

The Design Council’s Double Diamond model is a visual diagram showing these design stages.

The Double Diamond shows the importance of taking time to understand the problem before designing solutions.

Each diamond shape illustrates the process of creating or exploring many possible ideas before refining these to the best idea.

The first diamond does this to confirm the problem, and the second to design the solution.

Double Diamond graphic showing two phases. One - Understand the problem (Discover and Define). Two - Design the solution (Develop and Deliver).

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