Ideation involves generating and refining ideas for new services or improving existing ones. This stage is essential because it lays the foundation for the entire design process and sets the direction for the project. Service designers may work in teams or with stakeholders to explore different perspectives and generate ideas that address user needs and meet business objectives.

The ideation stage involves several key steps, including:

• Understanding users and business. Designers start by gaining a deep understanding of user needs and business goals based on the data collected during the previous research stage.
• Conducting ideation sessions. This involves brainstorming sessions with activities like brainwriting, mind mapping, or random word association, where designers work together to generate a wide range of ideas, regardless of feasibility or practicality.
• Idea filtering and prioritization. After generating a large number of ideas, teams filter and prioritize them based on their feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with user needs and business objectives.
• Concept development. Designers then develop concepts for the most promising ideas. This involves creating detailed descriptions, visual representations, or mockups of the service concept to communicate and refine the idea further.

The ideation stage can be iterative and involve a feedback loop. This means designers continually refine their ideas based on feedback from users, stakeholders, and feasibility studies.