Dot Kite

The intricacies involved in Service Design

Rachna Sundaram — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:47:10 +0000

The Services industry has several stakeholders – manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, sales personnel in a retail environment; in a hospitality environment, staff members that one faces, but also behind-the-scenes staff such as chefs & cleaners, & in both cases, the customer, of course.

Unsurprisingly, lately Service Design & Interaction Design are garnering more & more attention, particularly given today’s competitive landscape. While Interaction Design refers to managing the interaction between product & customer, Service Design deals with all possible touch points, including staff, retailers & so on, as mentioned earlier. Service Design in other words, deals with organizing service processes, infrastructure & resources in order to offer a high-quality experience – from beginning to end…& beyond.

I noted a few understated factors recently from a speech given by Jamie Hegeman, a Service Design expert, based at Nokia Design.

-Providing an aesthetically pleasing experience – Lighting, amount of sunlight in the space, smells, uniform, hair & makeup of the staff, small touches such as finger molds on the handle of a cup, & of course staff patience & helpfulness – collectively, they contribute to a quality experience.

-Staff needs – The staff that is the key ambassador to deliver one’s service to the consumer, hence it is important that they are happy, comfortable & possess all necessary tools to deliver a memorable experience. Staff needs & thoughts must be regularly surveyed in order to ensure their satisfaction and thereby customers’ satisfaction.

We could continue on with this list as there are several points to consider. This is why many organizations hire Service Design experts, as a way to ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to creating, delivering & sustaining a quality experience.

What do you do to ensure quality Service Design in your organization?

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Dot Kite expands Amsterdam office

Thomas Mylonas — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:23:42 +0000

As we are about to conclude the first quarter of 2010, we have a lot of new developments at Dot Kite. The new quarter of this year a new member will join the Dot Kite team. With this news post I would like to officially welcome Seroj de Graaf to Dot Kite’s design team in our Amsterdam office.

Seroj, born in The Netherlands, but grown up in an international family, will be the Design Development Director and will enhance Dot Kite’s team since he has a strong design background. With an overal experience of more than five years he is widely orientated in new production techniques and the most advanced manufacturing technologies.

With the addition of Seroj in our Dot Kite design team, we will be able to deliver high level of detailed production specs (to any manufacturing partner around the world) and we can ensure the highest level realization between the conceptual phase and the final outcome, within the possibilities of time and money.

With this move, Dot Kite is becoming the leading company in Europe offering business development solutions through design services. Dot Kite’s competitive advantage is the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) set of services where we can fully develop “turn-key” projects in house and ensure high-end design and business solutions.

Sincerely and on behalf of the Dot Kite team,

Thomas C. Mylonas

Airline Design instigates Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Thomas Mylonas — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:30:27 +0000

In the past, people were excited about flying. Airplanes were designed with exclusivity in mind. There were bars and lounges in the airplane, golden cutlery, and the travelers were served by a select few who could proudly call themselves air hosts. Nowadays, airline companies lack in giving such experiences to their customers, even their most loyal who get certain perks, but not the best service.

Below, we discuss the phenomenon of proper, high quality design helping airline companies get a sustainable competitive advantage with a clear case proving this.

The case concerns Virgin Atlantic. This airline company saw their chance to increase their market share when they invested in design as other companies were holding back on all expenses during the previous recession. They gained a substantial part of the market when the economy started to pick up again and have held onto their piece of the pie.
For airline companies, the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) means designing everything including among others:

Service before, during, and after flights
Branding and Strategic Communication
Branding Applications (ground applications and inflight applications
Online Experience (Website design and Online Social Media Management)
Crew uniform and office corporate clothing
Aircraft Livery
Aircraft seating plan graphics

There are countless more examples, but the latter especially helps form the public image of the airline. This will get people excited about flying again, like they were when flying was a pure luxury. Accordingly, instead of fighting for customers, customers will be fighting for you.

More news and updates on this topic will follow soon. To stay up to date, you may:
- related post How airlines can survive the crisis with great design
- See Velvet Airlines case study by Dot Kite
- revisit our News & Views section,
- follow us @dotkite,
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Best Hotels in Amsterdam have Best Design | pt. 2

Stef Vloet — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:17:16 +0000

As we already mentioned, Amsterdam’s hotel guests are visitors from all over the world and stay for many different reasons. Like any metropolis, Amsterdam has a wide variety of hotels on offer. These can be anything from a backpacker’s cheap sleep, to five star luxury hotels, to boutique hotels. It is especially at the latter where guests feel a unique Total Consumer Experience (TCE). So, let us now take a closer look at the hotels themselves.

Amsterdam really has a lot of hotels. At the moment of writing this article, there are 369 hotels in the city. The numbers of three, four, and five star hotels are as follows:

Three Star Hotels: 140
Four Star Hotels: 88
Five Star Hotels: 18

These hotels should be designed with the guest in mind. Nowadays, there are three star hotels that already take design into their business. This hotel design is made so that they can stand out and compete with rivals in higher star categories while trying to offer a lower price. This is not to say that a three star hotel is better than a four or five star hotel, but in general, what was once called a three star hotel, may not be able to get a single star today.

Besides the normal hotels, visitors can also stay at boutique hotels, of which Amsterdam has 12. These hotels offer a better design experience. These can have different star ratings, but the way they stand out is that they all have a better service and more attention to design. Though, the majority of them lack unique Total Consumer Experience (TCE).

Therefore, here at Dot Kite, we preach that designing the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) is not only necessary but vital. This added value can generate more business in itself and also spur the most powerful marketing phenomenon of all, word of mouth, giving your hotel the highest RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) imaginable. Feel free to review the case of Best Western | Hotel Selene.

More news and updates on this topic will follow soon. To stay up to date, you may:
- visit the first part of this series: Best Hotels in Amsterdam have Best Design | pt.1
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Dot Kite acquires Online Design and Experience start-up

Thomas Mylonas — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:01:00 +0000

As I have already mentioned in the past, the world – and the way it does business – has changed dramatically in the last few years. Here at Dot Kite, we are always keen on new developments and always want to push the boundaries of design and also of online experiences. Willing to invest in new technologies in order to provide the best possible service to our partners and clients is our commitment.

Therefore, on behalf of Dot Kite team, I would like to announce that Dot Kite made an acquisition of a highly creative start up – online and interactive design company – iGallic. iGallic, a start-up based in Amsterdam, will be part of Dot Kite and the founder and creative director of iGallic, Mr. Yuri Winkelman will now become the Online Experience Director of Dot Kite.

Our clients will continue to enjoy the benefits of Dot Kite’s founding values, but from now on they will also have the chance to have some of the most advanced Online Experiences ever developed by a design company. This will benefit our current and new partners/clients and we hope we can set new standards in the field.

In 2010, you will see the direct involvement of Dot Kite in some of the most exciting projects and of course the expansion to major Online projects as well. Our Total Consumer Experience (TCE) set of services will continue to be our main competitive advantage because we simply invest on talent, quality and excellence.

Sincerely and on behalf of the Dot Kite team,

Thomas C. Mylonas

Best Hotels in Amsterdam have Best Design | pt. 1

Stef Vloet — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:34:57 +0000

From the UK and the US to India and China, there are many international visitors, both tourists and business visitors that come to the Netherlands and stay at one of Amsterdam’s many hotels. They can stay at one of many hotels including designer hotels and go through a new Total Consumer Experience (TCE). Why, you may ask, is the term visitor being used instead of tourist? This is because the term tourist would exclude the 40% of visitors who are on business.

Most of the internationals who visit the Netherlands are from the UK, the US, and Germany. The main place of stay for all international visitors is Amsterdam. Even though Amsterdam is a relatively small city compared to other high profile capitols, tourists flock from far and wide to experience the city’s unique aspects related to culture, history, canals, and of course, the unusual. They can choose from a wide variety of hotels including five star hotels, backpacker accommodations, or even one of several designer boutique hotels where visitors get a unique Total Consumer Experience (TCE). Here at Dot Kite we specializes in creating such experiences.

Business visitors, who make up 40% of the people who spend a night in Amsterdam, are not to be overlooked. They want all of the extras a hotel can offer, and a Total Consumer Experience (TCE) would fit their needs. Besides attending meetings, there are also a lot of congresses that attract these visitors and the government would like to increase the number of international congresses in the area even though Amsterdam already ranks high among other cities when it comes to hosting such congresses.

More news and updates on this topic will follow soon. To stay up to date, you may:
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How airlines can survive the crisis with great design

Thomas Mylonas — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:35:14 +0000

The airline industry is defined by their customers. They hop from one airline to another depending on the price or the quality of the service. Great service, as a part of the branding experience, is what brings airlines to the top of rankings, such as Skytrax. When customers have the experience of a lifetime with one airline, they will come back for more and eventually become loyal. When you have loyal customers, they will perform the most powerful form of marketing for you – word of mouth.

In an economic downturn, it has been proven that airline companies who keep up their branding and marketing efforts end up doing better in the long-term. You must integrate your quality and branding into every aspect of your company from the design of the airplane (interior or livery), provide great food experience in stunning packaging design, up to the way stewards are dressed. This is what we call Total Consumer Experience (TCE). ( See Velvet Airlines case study by Dot Kite )

Another thing airlines must do in today’s economy is to be transparent. People want to know how they are doing financially, what they are doing with the environment, and other airline and airplane news. Thus, information on these topics must be made readily available. Transparency will only be positive for your company, especially if the competition is still hiding their processes.

What do airline companies need to do today? They need to be passionate, invest even if there is an economic downturn, and create a strong following and good word of mouth through excellent service.

More news and updates on this topic will follow soon. To stay up to date, you may:
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How design influences subconscious decisions

Stef Vloet — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:05:28 +0000

Is design everything? Everything is designed! Or is it? Nature is designed for perfection. We know this as evolution; the survival of the fittest. Design is also developed through experience – a mistake now will not be repeated in the future, and knowledge – what designers learn through education and adoption of best practice.

In order to be the best in the business, your company must design for perfection. This means leaving nothing to chance; designing everything:

the layout of your hospitality business
your business cards
pens
marketing schemes
…and even the way light comes into your building and how it creates an ambience in the room.

When taking the subject of lighting into more detail, one will come to realize that it is much more important than one may originally think. People become gloomy in the cold, dark winter months. When having the correct mix and ambience using natural and artificial lighting, the relative perception of a room can be greatly increased.

Gerald Zaltman of Harvard Business School wrote that 95 percent of a consumer’s decision making lies within the subconscious. This means that everything a consumer sees, feels, hears, and experiences has an effect on the purchasing decision. Companies, especially those in the hospitality sector, need to make sure the right subconscious feelings are conveyed to consumers so that they make a purchase and come back for more.

Can design be prefect? It depends. It all depends on perception because people will always judge a design and an experience based on their past experiences. This holds especially true for the hospitality sector where current customer satisfaction functionally determines future earnings. The right mix of experience and knowledge to accomplish such tasks are possessed by Dot Kite in order to deliver the right design for businesses wanting to convey character with quality and elegance.

More news and updates on this topic will follow soon. To stay up to date, you may:
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Dot Kite | Lab signs contract with Amsterdam based Cupid & Shu

Thomas Mylonas — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:38:50 +0000

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with Cupid & Shu.
Dot Kite | Lab will be responsible for the Strategic Branding and Communication of the company, helping Cupid & Shu to establish a solid and dynamic brand in a highly competitive industry.

Cupid & Shu is an Amsterdam based photography agency that provides its related services to local and international clients.

At an initial stage Dot Kite | Lab will deliver:
- Brand Strategy and Development
- Brand Deﬁnition and Positioning
- Brand Guidelines
- Branding Applications
- Online Experience

With this contract, Dot Kite | Lab expands its operations in the Dutch market.

For more info regarding our Total Consumer Experience (TCE) service, please contact us at info@dotkitelab.eu

What comes after Best Hotel Design?

Stef Vloet — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:33:18 +0000

Total Consumer Experience (TCE) design is nothing without Total Quality Management (TQM). Without TQM, the effects of TCE are diminished. Total Consumer Experience is about perfecting every detail of a customer’s experience. TQM is about managing this experience from strategic to operational levels. Designing a perfectly tailored Total Consumer Experience (TCE) is what Dot Kite excels at. Cases from their website attest to this.

After Total Consumer Experience has been implemented at any given company, that company needs to follow through with TQM. This means doing everything to keep the essence of TCE because the more intrigued and delighted possible customers are, the more often they return. TQM should most certainty be as detailed as the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) design.

An example from the hospitality sector concerns return guests. Do people return to TCE Boutique hotels after having a perfect experience? Possibly. Will people return to such hotels after not having any given piece of property returned? Definitely not!

These people will lament about their friends, family, and colleagues whenever the subject comes up; ‘yes, I remember the time when the people at that hotel lost my watch. I’ll never go there again.” This is word of mouth at its height, which is widely accepted as being one of the most common and powerful ways of getting information out to new potential customers.

People will not recall Total Consumer Experience (TCE) design without TQM. Returning to the example, an unsatisfied guest will not remember a hotel’s masterful design flowing through every detail from uniforms and wine glasses to it’s layout and structure, they will remember that one personal belonging that never returned to them.

More news and updates on this topic will follow soon. To stay up to date, you may:
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