My current job / my role / how I call myself
I consider myself a design executive, having held multiple VP of design roles over the past decade. Right now, I’m in the exciting phase of searching for my next leadership opportunity.
My professional background
I started studying engineering but quickly shifted gears to writing poetry. That led me to a career in journalism and editing, where I also picked up web development skills. I eventually transitioned fully into web development and even started my own company before pursuing a graduate degree in design. My service design journey began at Carnegie Mellon University, which set me on the path to join Nokia, then Adaptive Path—a pioneering experience design agency. After Capital One acquired Adaptive Path, I continued my work there.
In short, I’m a poet-editor-developer-designer-consultant-executive hybrid.
I also teach and give talks on service design, and I’ve supported the Service Design Network for 15 years, leading the Service Design Global Conference for much of that time.
How I got into CX / service design
I got lucky during my first week of grad school when they hosted the first-ever service design conference. I also took a service design course with Shelly Evenson, one of the founders of the Service Design Network, who became my graduate advisor. A project I did with a local medical clinic sealed the deal—I was hooked on service design.
Tools and methods that I use the most
Journey maps, vision stories, and service blueprints are core to my work. I’ve applied them across many contexts and zoom levels.
I’ve had success integrating them into business processes and orienting business structures around the customer journey.
A topic I am very passionate about
I have a lot! Good experiences. Bad experiences. Design leadership. Service design! But also poetry, home brewing, soccer, running, and Adidas Gazelles!
Learning resources, books, blogs and podcasts that I enjoy
I love the talks that come out of the Service Design Global Conference (yes, I’m biased!).
For books: This is Service Design Doing. If you want insight into my working style, Orchestrating Experiences covers many practices I helped develop while at Adaptive Path.
I’m not big on podcasts or blogs—I prefer real conversations about what people are working on.
My tip for newbies who want to start working on CX projects
A few tips:
- Learn basic research methods and empathize with your customers.
- Understand the customer journey, map it out, and share it.
- Start small, measure, iterate.
- Stay curious and never stop learning.
You can connect with me on these channels (social media, blogs, website, …)
Twitter: @jamin
Threads: jaminhegeman
LinkedIn: /in/jaminhegeman
