Martin Jordan
Writing and publishing
Since the early 2010s, I have written articles for journals, contributed to books, and blogged.
Committing to the UK public sector’s robust working-in-the-open culture, I led 2 UK government blogs as an editor for various years, setting up one of them.
In 2015, I created ‘The Service Gazette’, a printed newspaper for service innovators. With my co-editors, I’ve been making new issues for almost a decade, publishing texts from over 120 contributors from 20 countries and 6 continents.
I write about service design, community-oriented approaches, and public sector transformation.
Currently, I’m co-writing a book titled ‘Strong Design’ with Kara Kane and Clara Greo.
Contact me if you want me to contribute to your publication or collaborate on a project.
2024
January 2024
Blog post: ‘Co-creating the most complete overview of international design in government work’
on ‘Design in government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane and Viktoria Westphalen
2023
August 2023
Blog post: ‘Communities of Practice: Katalysatoren effektiver Verwaltungstransformation’
on ‘DigitalService’ blog
in German with Christian Kaatz
August 2023
Blog post: ‘How the International Design in Government community is coming together again’
on ‘Design in government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane and Paloma Jain
June 2023
Blog post: ‘Wie der Servicestandard die Entwicklung digitaler Verwaltungsservices unterstützt’
on ‘DigitalService’ blog
in German with Carolin Merz and Debbie Blume
June 2023
Article: ‘Transformation auf allen Ebenen: Welche Veränderung es braucht für bessere digitale Verwaltungsdienste’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 8, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
January 2023
Article: ‘Bitte keine Tiernamen – Wie man Verwaltungsservices erfolgreich benennt’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 8, No. 1
in German
January 2023
Blog post: ‘Mit Kommunikationsdesign nutzerzentrierte Verwaltungsmodernisierung unterstützen’
on ‘DigitalService’ blog
in German with Daphne Braun
2022
August 2022
Blog post: ‘Wie wir Nutzer:innen verstehen und in den Entwicklungsprozess einbeziehen’
on ‘DigitalService’ blog
in German with Carina Haumering, Charlotte Vorbeck
June 2022
Blog post: ‘Mit Design Verwaltung besser gestalten’
on ‘DigitalService’ blog
in German
April 2022
Blog post: ‘10 tips for working with a service designer’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Annie Streater
April 2022
Blog post: ‘How we run service design training as an agile service’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Clara Greo
March 2022
Blog post: ‘Moving countries, moving governments: Progressing from the UK’s to the German government’s Digital Service’
on Medium
in English
March 2022
Blog post: ‘In case you missed it: Here’s what happened in Services Week 2022’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Dan Howarth, Lisa Jeffery, Marc O’Connor
March 2022
Blog post: ‘What to expect in Services Week 2022’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Lisa Jeffery
February 2022
Blog post: ‘The International Design in Government community is 5 years old!’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane, Paloma Jain
February 2022
Blog post: ‘How we’re improving the Service Manual’s guidance and navigation’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Alan Maddrell, Alison Foley, Ben Carpenter, Melanie Dunkley
January 2022
Blog post: ‘Come and co-create Services Week 2022’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Lisa Jeffery
2021
December 2021
Blog post: ‘Moving from the private to the public sector as a designer’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Courtney Toth, Chris Ballantine-Thomas, Nikin Nagewadia, Vicky Teinaki
November 2021
Blog post: ‘How designers in the UK government help address climate change’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Thaís Tozatto Maio
June 2021
Blog post: ‘We’re hiring interaction and service designers!’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Tim Paul
June 2021
Article: ‘Zu gerechteren Services: Wie digitale Verwaltungsservices inklusiver, barrierefreier und fairer werden’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 7, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
June 2021
Blog post: ‘What we’re doing to make the Service Manual community-led’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Hannah Cooper, Kara Kane, Shahjahan Ahmed
March 2021
Blog post: ‘In case you missed it: This was Services Week 2021’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Lisa Jeffery, Shahjahan Ahmed
March 2021
Blog post: ‘What to expect during Services Week 2021’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Lisa Jeffery, Shahjahan Ahmed
January 2021
Blog post: ‘Get involved in Services Week 2021’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Alex Gadsby, Amy Everett, Andy Williams-Jones, Clara Greo, Dan Howarth, Debbie Blanchard, Eagle Shaw, Henry Cookson, Jacinta Mellenger, Jonathan Hunt, Lisa Jeffery, Marc O’Connor, Shahjahan Ahmed, Rebecca Gorton, Paul Moran
2020
November 2020
Blog post: ‘Taking a community-led approach to the Service Standard and Service Manual’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Alison Foley, Ben Carpenter
November 2020
Article: ‘Vom Wunsch zur Wirklichkeit – Wie Deutschlands Servicestandard nutzerfreundliche Dienste schafft’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 6, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
September 2020
Book chapter: ‘Brand Services – Service Design in der Markenführung’
in ‘Marke und digitale Medien: Der Wandel des Markenkonzepts im 21. Jahrhundert’
in German with Christian Vatter
July 2021
Blog post: ‘How to create a portfolio to apply for a design role in government’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Charlotte Downs
May 2020
Blog post: ‘How designers across government are working remotely’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
February 2020
Blog post: ‘In case you missed it: What happened during Services Week 2020’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
January 2020
Blog post: ‘Participate in Services Week 2020’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English
2019
November 2019
Blog post: ‘Help shape Services Week 2020’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English
October 2019
Blog post: ‘We’re all involved in government services’
on ‘Services in Government’ blog
in English with Will Harmer
October 2019
Article: ‘Transforming public service, shaping public value: Service design in the UK government’
in ‘Service Innovation and Design - Stories of the Emerging Themes and Impact of the Education’
in English
September 2019
Blog post: ‘User-centred design in local government: where it’s at’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
September 2019
Blog post: ‘International Design in Government community autumn update’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
September 2019
Book chapter: ‘Agile und nutzerzentrierte Gestaltung’
in ‘Einfach.Agil.Mobil – Leitfaden für benutzerfreundliche digitale Verwaltungsangebote’
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
September 2019
Blog post: ‘How we support service design across government’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English
June 2019
Blog post: ‘4 insights from 2 years of London #GovDesign Meetup: Learning about an expansive field through running a meetup’
on Medium
in English
June 2019
Thesis: ‘Creating public value through service design: Facilitation of human-centred service transformation in the city-state of Hamburg’
at Laurea University of Applied Sciences
in English
June 2019
Blog post: ‘Crowdsourcing guidance on what good services look like’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English with Louise Miller
May 2019
Blog post: ‘International Design in Government events this summer’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
March 2019
Article: ‘Inkrementelle Innovation: Stufen zur digitalen Verwaltung’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 5, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
February 2019
Blog post: ‘International Design in Government events are going global’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
January 2019
Blog post: ‘What’s happening in Services Week?’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English
2018
December 2018
Blog post: ‘Die deutschsprachigen Servicestandards sind da: Vorlagen für verbindliche Qualitätsstandards für ganzheitlich entwickelte Verwaltungsservices’
on Medium
in German
November 2018
Blog post: ‘Take part in the first Services Week’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English
October 2018
Blog post: ‘What we learned from running the first International Design in Government Conference’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
August 2018
Blog post: ‘Building a cross-government service design community’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English
July 2018
Article: ‘Design revolution in government: Three waves of transformation’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 4, No. 2
in English with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
July 2018
Article: ‘Services statt Fachverfahren gestalten: Wie Servicedesign Verwaltungsdienstleistungen für NutzerInnen verbessern kann’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 4, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
July 2018
Article: ‘Vom guten Gesetz zum besten Service: Wie Verwaltungsdigitalisierung nutzerzentriert gelingt’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 4, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
July 2018
Blog post: ‘International Design in Government Conference - what to expect’
on ‘Design in Government’ blog
in English with Kara Kane
April 2018
Article: ‘Ganzheitliche Qualitätsstandards für bessere Services: Fokus auf Menschen, nicht nur Technik und Datenschutz’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 4, No. 1
in German
April 2018
Article: ‘Scaling Service Design in the UK Government’
in ‘Touchpoint’ Vol. 9, No. 3
in English with Kara Kane
March 2018
Blog post: ‘Nutzerakzeptanz — so geht’s: Wie Verwaltungen Angebote entwickeln, die auch genutzt werden’
on Medium
in German
February 2018
Blog post: ‘Posterpropaganda: Über visuelle Kultur und Kommunikation in der Verwaltung’
on Medium
in German
2017
October 2017
Article: ‘Designrevolution in der Verwaltung’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 3, No. 1
in German with Dr Katrin Dribbisch
2016
November 2016
Article: ‘When services harm people: On designers’ responsibility for data’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 2, No. 1
in English with Maria Izquierdo
October 2016
Blog post: ‘Designing the register creation process’
on ‘Government Digital Service’ blog
in English with Tom Hughes
2015
November 2015
Article: ‘A service for a very moment: customer jobs & contexts of Berlin’s urban mobility’
in ‘The Service Gazette’ Vol. 1, No. 1
in English with Hannes Jentsch
August 2015
Article: ‘Understanding the Jobs that Your Service is Hired for: Combining service design methods with the Jobs-to-be-Done framework’
in ‘Touchpoint’ Vol. 7, No. 2
in English with Hannes Jentsch
April 2015
Article: ‘No new base needs’
in ‘Things Do Jobs’
in English
Complementing a workshop series and seminars, I made the printed publication ‘Things Do Jobs’ with Boris Anthony and Hannes Jentsch.
It contains various essays and reproduces a popular Tumblr collection that captures what digital causes us to lose out on and what we can consider when designing Internet of Things devices. The publication was distributed at technology conferences.
2014
December 2014
Article: ‘Integrating Brand and Service Design: A unified approach to influencing actions and perceptions’
in ‘Touchpoint’ Vol. 6, No. 3
in English with Christian Vatter
October 2014
Book chapter: ‘Brand Services – Service Design in der Markenführung’
in ‘Marke und digitale Medien: Der Wandel des Markenkonzepts im 21. Jahrhundert’
in German with Christian Vatter
2013
June 2013
Book chapter: ‘Corporate Service Design: Vom Image zur Experience’
in ‘Corporate Identity & Corporate Design: Das Kompendium’
in German with Christian Vatter
May 2013
Article: ‘Opening the Black Box of Research: The use of qualitative and quantitative research in service design’
in ‘Touchpoint’ Vol. 5, No. 1
in English with Katrin Dribbisch, Manuel Großmann, Olga Scupin
2012
September 2012
Article: ‘Bringing Ideas To Life: A Typology for Prototyping Services’
in ‘Touchpoint’ Vol. 4, No. 2
in English with Katrin Dribbisch, Manuel Großmann, Olga Scupin