Hi I’m Xiaoxue,
pronounced as /shiau_shweh/,

a service designer & strategist based in London,
working with people around the world.

What do I do?

A decade ago, I was often asked, 'What is service design?' Now, I frequently ponder, 'What kind of service designer have I become?'

My career spans consultancy to in-house roles across retail, healthcare, finance, and social services, etc. I've worked hands-on with end users and collaborated with industry leaders to drive impact through strategic design.

I believe design brings tangible value and measurable outcomes. As a service designer, I aim to drive positive change in our everyday life.

  • 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.

  • 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 quantifiable business result, and that improvement of experiences should yield tangible impact.

  • Digital & AI transformation emerges as a facet of broader business evolution. I partner with businesses to translate their customer-centric commitments into actionable strategies. This might range from identifying new operational models that foster business agility and creativity to customising tools and frameworks for heightened team efficiency and responsiveness.

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

    • What essential sustainability actions must businesses prioritise?

    • How do we assess inclusivity in new service launches?

    • What are the ethical implications of AI in healthcare?

    These aren't just buzzwords; they represent the inevitable future. They're about foresight, readying ourselves for what's ahead, and harnessing the true potential of design offerings. I engage with these topics deeply in every project work.

Selected works

Pioneering a service model to deliver precision medicine from lab to patients

Pharmaceutical companies had breakthrough cancer treatments but lacked the operational infrastructure to deliver them. I led a business transformation from product-led to service-led, designing an end-to-end service ecosystem that enabled the commercial launch and scale of a life-saving advanced therapy across 10+ global markets.

Disciplines
Service Design
Strategy
Product / UX
Research

Industry 
Healthcare/pharma

Duration
14 month

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Cutting e-commerce returns through cross-functional design

Driven by “buy-to-try” behaviour, high return rates cost a luxury fashion business £20M+ annually in logistics and waste. I led a 6-month multidisciplinary programme across product, operations, and finance, designing integrated solutions from purchase guidance to warehouse operations to reduce returns.

Disciplines
Service Design
Research
Data Strategy
Product / UX

Industry 
E-commerce

Duration
6 month

Accelerating dealership lead conversion

A world-leading automobile brand struggled to convert dealership leads due to fragmented processes and poor visibility across the sales journey. I led the design of an intelligent lead management system, combining scoring algorithms, automated workflows, and unified dashboards, to improve conversion while delivering a consistent customer experience.

Disciplines
Service Design
Research
Product / UX

Industry 
Finance

Duration
12 weeks

Getting creative in the highly regulated space of corporate lending

A corporate bank’s lending process was slow and complex due to manual compliance and dynamic workflows, frustrating corporate clients and creating competitive disadvantage. I led discovery across lending operations, mapping key decision points and evaluating AI applications against regulatory constraints to define clear opportunities to reduce manual burden, minimise human error, and accelerate decision-making.

Industry 
Automobile

Duration
8 weeks

Disciplines
Service Design
Product Strategy

Selected clients