Archive - Thinker & Co.

Useful Transparency vs Performative Transparency: a Service Design Lesson from a 30-minute cafe wait

Last month, I visited Zhuhai, a coastal city in Mainland China.

Mar 4 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

February 2026

Service Design Case Study: Backstage Excellence, Frontstage Failure

Recently, a snowstorm-affected trip has given me an opportunity to evaluate an airline’s service design during time of crisis.

Feb 18 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

Stakeholder Interviews - a Good Question to Ask

Stakeholder interviews often focus on what people do.

Feb 3 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

January 2026

Why User Experience Starts Outside Your Product or Service

How a user experiences a product or service is highly influenced by what’s in the marketplace.

Jan 20 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

From Mobile-first to Mobile-only

Do you work on your laptop or your phone?

Jan 6 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

December 2025

The Hidden Cost of Building Everything Users Ask For

I once designed a remote control for interactive TV (see picture above).

Dec 23, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

The importance of planning for exception paths in CX

When designing services, it’s tempting to focus solely on the ideal path — the way the experience should work when everything goes right.

Dec 9, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

November 2025

Are you solving the right problem?

Heard an interesting project war story the other day.

Nov 25, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

The power of the "Who, What, How, When, Where" framework for project success

I was first introduced to the “Who, What, How, When, Where” thought framework in graduate school.

Nov 11, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

October 2025

Build log #13: A web app for ADHD task breakdowns

It’s been a while since I posted a build log.

Oct 28, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

Why Service Design Blueprints Matter even if Process Maps exist

Recently I joined a project with more than 2 years of history.

Oct 14, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)

Promoting UX in projects - lessons learned

Graduate school did not teach me how to handle a central part of my career: how to justify the need for User Experience (or Customer Experience or…

Oct 1, 2025 • Evelyn So (Thinker & Co.)