Uncovering value inch by inch

This service is elegantly illustrated on Insingers website.

"Realizing that many of its wealthy clients lack the time or patience to deal with their personal finances, Amsterdam-based private bank Insinger de Beaufort launched a new service that takes finances back to the basics: a shoebox.

After sitting down with their private banker to discuss financial planning, Insinger's clients are sent a big shoebox by courier every month. They drop anything admin-related into the box: bills to be paid, bank statements, receipts, tax returns, speeding tickets, insurance documents, etc. At the end of the month, Insinger sends a courier to pick up the box, and then processes its contents. Clients are sent a complete overview of actions and transactions within three business days, after which the bank takes care of the entire follow-up process, including paying bills, filing tax returns and processing business expenses.

Every quarter, clients are sent a financial report, detailing spending categories, asset growth, etc, and once a year, they meet with their private banker to evaluate new developments and adjust their financial planning as needed. Sensing a gap in the market, Insinger de Beaufort offers its shoebox service to clients at other banks, too. The concept is of course entirely focused on convenience, saving (valuable) clients the time and hassle of dealing with the minutiae of their personal finances. While other banks provide their high-end clients with similar add-on services, the shoebox approach is undeniably elegant in its no-tech simplicity."

This back to basics service involving the Shoe Box, reminds me of a Service Design I created in my third year at University, with my class mates Garry Burns and George Eaton.

Adoption= Usefulness + Usability was a brief set by NCR. My team won second prize in the Student Design Competition 2006. We received acclaim for our future thinking, intensive research and the unusual and inspiring way we interpreted the brief.

We used the design process to investigate and understand how people interact with services, environments and products. Our final solution focused on the relationship between a traditional bank and our character; five-year-old Jordan Mc Donald.

‘Under the Bed’ is a Product Service System based on the relationship between ‘banking’ and ‘imagination’. The system encompasses the vivid imagination that all five year olds possess.

Our solution is a service that ultimately banks imagination. It is an interactive, structured and stimulating space situated under the child’s bed. This portable space can be used throughout the day, despite location. By direct video link Jordan can interact with other children using their own Under the Bed service. Subsequently, trading imaginative play and thoughts.

I have written a journal paper ‘Adapting Insight into Innovation’ on the research methods I used throughout this project. Get in touch if you would like me to send you a copy!