Earlier this month, Dr. Mariana Salgado joined the ICOS Head Office communications team as a Senior Service Designer. Mariana is an experienced designer and will join two new ICOS’ projects that focus on developing stakeholder needs and services. In particular, in IRISCC, she will facilitate the development of services addressing climate risks for industrial users, while within the ENVRINNOV project she will explore the types of services environmental Research Infrastructures can offer for business innovation.
Collaborative spaces for tailored services
A service designer is someone who designs the processes, interactions, and collaborations that make up a service, often focusing on improving the overall experience. Service design involves understanding user needs, researching how people and non-human actors interact with a service, and designing solutions to meet those needs creatively, effectively and efficiently.
“As a service designer at ICOS, my primary responsibility will be to co-design services for various stakeholders, as well as leveraging data and measurements provided by our partners,” says Mariana. “Essentially, I will facilitate collaborative spaces to identify and design solutions tailored to the desires and needs of the individuals and organisations we serve.“
Service design for climate innovation
Even though a service designer position in the ICOS Head Office is new, ICOS has incorporated service design in our project work for a while. For example, ICOS Cities project aims at developing useful tools and services for cities in support of their local climate action plans. In addition, one of the main objective of the KADI project is to co-design an African observation network for climate services.
“It's pioneering that ICOS is using service design to innovate and build new services,” states Mariana. “Traditionally, research infrastructures haven't really had designers shaping their services. I'm interested in seeing how a designer can bring something fresh to the table in this area. Plus, tackling climate change is such a huge task nowadays, so I'm excited to be part of that effort,” she adds.
When asked about her reason for wanting to work at ICOS, Mariana says: “I'm happy to dive into activities like user research, prototyping, and refining service designs to ensure they align with the needs of users and organizations alike. I'm also enthusiastic about exploring innovative ways to collaborate with researchers, policymakers, and citizens. Moreover, I'm eager to contribute with my design expertise to support ICOS in achieving its mission of monitoring and mitigating climate change.”
We hope you will join us to warmly welcome Mariana to the ICOS community!
Key facts
| Name and Title | Dr Mariana Salgado, Senior Service Designer |
| Education | Doctor of Arts, Media Department, Aalto University (2009), Master of Arts, Product and strategic design (2003). Industrial Designer (1998) |
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Languages | Fluent Spanish, Finnish and English. I read and understand French and Portuguese |
| Hobbies | Reading (especially graphic novels), dancing, swimming and kayaking |
| Secret Skills | I host a podcast on social design in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. We've published over 500 episodes and hold the title for the most listened-to design podcast in Spanish-speaking countries |