Service design has an image problem

Two versions of what people think we do:

• Version 1: Fancy workshop facilitators. Sticky notes, Miro boards, journey maps on walls. Lots of "hmm, interesting" and not much shipping.

• Version 2: UX researchers who zoomed out. Interviews, synthesis, insights decks. Lots of recommendations, not much in the room when decisions happen.

Neither is wrong, exactly. But neither is the whole picture.

Here's how I think about it:
Service design is what happens when you combine research rigor with delivery accountability. You map the system and you change it. You facilitate alignment and you ship outcomes.

• The blueprints matter. But blueprints that don't become shipped improvements? That's theater.

• The research matters. But research that doesn't reach decision-makers? That's documentation.

→ The craft is in holding both: deep understanding and pragmatic delivery.
Not everyone does both equally. But every service design team needs both covered.

Where do you sit on that spectrum?