Service design • product • strategy

Hi, I'm Xiaoxue.

Pronounced as /shiau_shweh/, I translate design thinking into design doing, by guiding teams, shaping strategy, and shipping products that scale growth and impact.

My design ingredients

A decade ago, people asked me, "What is service design?" These days, I ask myself, "What kind of service designer have I become?"

The answer: the kind who's equally comfortable testing touchpoints with end users as mapping out multi-year transformation strategies with C-suites.

As a food enthusiast, I view service design less like following a recipe and more like cooking in your own kitchen. You assess what you're working with, understand what your guests actually need, collaborate with your team, and combine the right ingredients at the right moment.

Design research

Design begins with inquiry. People are complex, and service systems can be intricate. I assist clients in exploring, analysing, and understanding human behavior with its context. I carefully select and blend the most appropriate research methods that lead us to actionable insights.

Strategy & Product

A North Star vision won't travel far without a strategy aligned with business goals. I guide clients in pinpointing the intersection of experiential opportunities and business ambitions. I believe design actions should demonstrate a measurable business result, and that improvement of experiences should yield a tangible impact.

Organisational transformation

Digital & AI transformation emerges as a facet of broader business evolution. I partner with businesses to define the actions required to accommodate and sustain changes. This might range from identifying new operational models that foster business agility to customising tools and frameworks for heightened team efficiency.

Capability development

Developing CX capabilities isn't about converting everyone into a designer. Rather, it's about infusing user-centricity and systematic thinking into a company's decision making mechanism. I collaborate with teams to reveal the value of a user-centered approach in their roles. By providing teams with hands-on tools and embedded steps, I aim to elevate their service literacy and strengthen the overall CX confidence across the business.

Responsible exploration

What essential sustainability actions must businesses prioritise? How do we assess inclusivity in new service launches? What are the ethical implications and guardrails of AI in healthcare? These aren't just buzzwords; they represent the inevitable future. They're about elevating the designer's role and value, and harnessing the true potential of our offerings. I engage with these topics mindfully in every project.

Selected works

Building the infrastructure to deliver precision medicine at scale

Pharmaceutical companies developed breakthrough treatments but had no way to get them to patients. As the design lead, I drove the business transformation that created an end-to-end service system, from lab to hospital, enabling the commercial launch of a life-saving advanced therapy across 10+ global markets.

Healthcare

Designing for care delivery

Reducing e-commerce returns through cross-functional Design

"Buy-to-try" behavior was costing a luxury fashion retailer £20M+ annually in returns. Leading a cross-functional squad team, we delivered a 6-month program designing integrated solutions, from purchase guidance and data strategy to warehouse operations, that reduced returns by 10%.

E-commerce

Happier customers, healthier business

Using AI to help dealerships convert more leads

A leading automobile brand struggled with fragmented sales processes and poor visibility into customer journeys. Working with a team of designers, we developed an intelligent lead management system that uses AI to help dealers accelerate conversion while delivering consistent customer experiences.

Automobile

Unlocking the data black box

Bringing innovation to regulated corporate lending

A corporate bank's manual lending workflows frustrated clients and created competitive risk. I led discovery across lending operations and evaluated AI applications against regulatory requirements to create a prioritised product roadmap for transformation.

Finance

Compliant and creative

Growing capability that shifts design from delivery to decision-making

Design was seen as execution, not strategy, limiting its impact. I designed and delivered capability programs for various organisations (across industries, agencies, and in-house teams) that demonstrated design's business value through tailored methodologies and case-driven training.

Strategy