Listen, then hear. Service design is a balancing act between brand voices.

principle — attributed to David Stark

Stark works repeatedly with a notable mass retailer that has evolved significantly across the years. His job is to check the heartbeat continuously, with an ear to the pavement, balancing the brand's design ambitions with whatever other brand they are partnering with on a given project. The distinction he draws is between listening and hearing. Listening is the literal intake. Hearing is the comprehension of what the brand actually needs right now, which is rarely the same as what it asked for. The best service providers do both. The mediocre ones stop at the brief and miss the brand's actual direction.

For agencies, designers, and consultants serving long-term clients. The principle is most useful as a check on the temptation to apply a successful past solution to a brand that has since changed.

client-listening, service-design, brand-voice, collaboration