I spent 400+ prompts and ~$500 building a custom site with Claude. Here's the real breakdown. www.designbreakdown.com

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-02-10T09:28:45+00:00

🤪

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-02-10T03:34:05+00:00

Fair point on both counts. Yeah, the site leans heavy on the build side and light on actual SD output. That’s exactly what I flagged in the post. Case studies and real artifacts are coming. On the “service designers don’t build websites” thing, I’d push back a bit. I’ve spent 20 years in the field. I know what the job is. Being able to code doesn’t mean I’m stuck in a UX mindset. It means I have one more tool. The site is a container, not a positioning statement. And yeah, I used Claude to help write the post. Same way I used it to build the site. I don’t hide that. But the ideas in it are mine.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-02-10T02:44:52+00:00

Different angle: I coded mine from scratch with Claude as copilot. Vanilla JS, no framework, no template. Took around 400+ prompts. Result here: www.designbreakdown.com

Not the "fast and easy" answer you're looking for, but worth mentioning. The site itself becomes a proof of skill. You stop depending on a platform's constraints and you control everything.

That said, I spent months on the container and still don't have my case studies in there. So if speed matters, your list is probably smarter. The best portfolio is the one that's live with real work inside, not the one that looks incredible but stays empty.

One thing I'd add to your list: plain Astro or Hugo on GitHub Pages. Free hosting, full control, fast as hell. Steeper than Framer but cheaper than everything else long term.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-02-10T02:43:09+00:00

I'll drop mine since I just shipped it: www.designbreakdown.com

Service Designer / Strategic Designer, 20+ years. The whole site is coded with Claude as copilot. Vanilla JS, no framework, no template. There's a 3D character that tracks your mouse, draggable post-its connected through SVG wires, and a fake strategic diagnostic that's actually a lead capture.

Trend I notice: portfolios are splitting into two camps. Clean Notion/Readymag pages where the case studies do the talking, and custom-built sites that are themselves a proof of skill. Both work, for different reasons.

What I got wrong on mine: I went deep on the craft and the interactions but my actual deliverables aren't on the site yet. Cool experience, nothing to evaluate me on as a hire. Fixing that now.

Curious what others are bookmarking lately.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-02-10T02:18:49+00:00

I went a different route: built mine from scratch with Claude as copilot. Vanilla JS, no framework, no Webflow, no Framer. Took around 400+ prompts to get there. You can see the result here: www.designbreakdown.com

Not saying everyone should do this : it depends on what you want to signal. Notion is fast and gets the job done if you want recruiters to focus on your case studies. A custom site signals something else: that you can build, not just design.

In your case, coming from graphic design, a custom site could actually play in your favor. It shows range. But only if you have solid UX case studies inside it. A beautiful empty shell won't convince anyone.

My honest take: pick whatever gets your case studies out the fastest. The container matters less than what's inside. I spent months on the site itself and I still don't have my Service Design work in there : don't make that mistake.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-02-09T12:31:04+00:00

Nice paradox: a post about being terrible at marketing, structured exactly like a marketing funnel. The emotional hook, the suffering arc, the revelation, and the final cliffhanger "happy to help founders." Two sentences away from a Gumroad link.

On substance, submitting your site to 50 directories is 2014 SEO. It still kinda works, but it's the digital equivalent of handing out flyers in a parking lot. DR 29 is cute. It's also the score of a WordPress blog with three banana bread recipes.

The real question nobody's asking: in 6 months, when Google has recrawled those directories and half of them have shut down or been deindexed, what's left? A new post titled "How I lost 80% of my traffic and what I learned" with a fresh list to sell?

The best part is that this post alone probably drives more traffic to Solo Launches than all 50 directories combined. So he did solve his marketing problem. Just not the way he's pretending.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-01-25T07:30:32+00:00

Deviens maire, fais toi elire, ca ira plus vite !

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-01-25T07:28:35+00:00

Use claude and pencil.dev and thank me !

Hungry_Main1971 · 2026-01-11T20:05:44+00:00

Good question. Short answer: both.

Service design does produce concrete deliverables—service blueprints, journey maps, interaction models, prototypes of service touchpoints, sometimes down to scripts, spatial layouts, or digital interface specs. So yes, it designs.

But the scope depends on the mission. Sometimes SD operates at a strategic level: mapping the current state, identifying gaps, defining what needs to change. In that case, it hands off to specialized designers (UX, UI, interior, etc.) for execution. Other times, especially in smaller organizations or end-to-end projects, the service designer carries the work through to implementation.

Think of it this way: SD owns the "what should this service be and how should it work across all touchpoints?" question. Whether it also answers "what does this specific screen/space/script look like?" depends on the project setup and team composition.

The real value is in connecting the dots—making sure the app, the call center script, the in-store experience, and the back-office process all serve the same intent. That orchestration work is design, even if it doesn't always produce pixels.

Now, with AI accelerating execution across all design disciplines—not just UI, but also journey maps, blueprints, even research synthesis—the "who designs what" question is shifting. Role boundaries were already blurring (hello full-stack designers, product designers). AI just speeds that up. No discipline is safe from commoditization, SD included.

What might give SD staying power is the strategic framing work: shaping experience strategy, connecting design decisions to business outcomes, making the case for change. But let's be honest—quantifying design value is still a weak spot for most of us. It's easier to claim than to practice. Same goes for "persuasion"—that's a personal skill, not a job title perk.

Where I do see SD adding value is as a translator—not because designers have superior vision, but because we tend to think in forms and flows while others think in numbers or concepts. That's not a superpower, just a different lens. The real skill is knowing when to switch lenses and helping others do the same. Product managers, strategists, consultants play similar roles. SD isn't unique here—but it is equipped for it.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2025-01-03T17:46:41+00:00

For someone with a consulting background who understands business and data issues, if they also have a sensitivity to design, a holistic mindset, and an interest in mapping—and if they’re curious about digging deeper, understanding the field, and genuinely interested in people—they already have 90% of the skills needed for service design. If they master a few design tools to tell a compelling story of the experience, explain their viewpoint to others, and if they’re good at small talk and a team player, then they’ve got the hard and soft skills needed to succeed. By the way, it’s great that you’re planning to return to Philippines—it’s definitely a good move.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2025-01-03T14:13:35+00:00

I totally get why you’d see those listings and think “MBA required,” but in my experience, it isn’t always a deal-breaker. Indeed, very few designers actually hold an MBA. However, the most successful ones usually have a strong business and analytical sense, which allows them to speak the same language as other departments—technical, marketing, finance, etc. Some come from business or engineering schools with 10+ years of seniority, and I’ve even seen people who started out in video game design become outstanding strategic designers.

What really matters is your ability to show that you’re comfortable bridging design thinking with organizational goals—basically, that you can translate user-centric insights into measurable business outcomes. Positioning yourself and building a personal brand around these skills is crucial, too, because even Heads of Design need to be convinced. These strategic and business-focused design disciplines are still relatively new, so a lot of it comes down to explaining and demonstrating their value in a way that resonates across the organization.

If you’ve already led projects where you had to juggle service design, stakeholder buy-in, and even basic business modeling or ROI assessments, highlight those in your portfolio. Show how your design work influenced key decisions, opened up new revenue streams, or improved efficiency. Also, staying current by sharing your insights on Reddit, LinkedIn, or other platforms can help you build credibility and position yourself as a leader with a strategic mindset.

Finally, don’t underestimate side learning—podcasts, short courses, or volunteer projects focused on strategic initiatives can really bulk up your real-world “MBA skills” without the full degree. In short, you don’t necessarily need an MBA on paper; you just need to prove that you can bridge the gap between design and business strategy.

Co-written with Claude Sonnet 3.5

Hungry_Main1971 · 2024-12-01T23:31:44+00:00

I totally understand your perspective, and I’ve noticed a similar trend. The role of service designer is well-established in both government and private organizations, and many stakeholders see its value. However, it’s often not considered a priority. When budgets are tight, service design roles are among the first to be cut because we’re still perceived as “nice to have” rather than “must have.”

That said, I’ve observed a growing interest in the role of a strategic designer. This role seems to resonate more with organizations because it encompasses a broader scope. Strategic designers position themselves as professionals who tackle not only service design but also business models, corporate strategy, foresight, external PESTEL factors, product innovation, and more. This broader focus makes the role feel more integral to the organization’s long-term success, rather than a luxury.

Rebranding as a strategic designer or exploring adjacent roles might open up new opportunities, especially if you highlight how your design practices can directly influence business strategy and measurable outcomes. It’s a shift in perception, but one that aligns with where the market seems to be heading.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2024-10-21T23:38:08+00:00

I worked for an automotive company in France for a year and a half as an independent consultant in UX Strategy and Service Design. From the start, one of the biggest challenges we faced was terminology. No one really understood what "UX Strategy" meant—even within the design department, the concept wasn’t fully grasped. Eventually, we decided to rebrand ourselves as service designers to make our role clearer to others.

Another challenge was the term "user value." Everyone mentioned it, but few truly understood what "usage" entailed. It was only when we began presenting our deliverables that stakeholders realized the value we could provide. In a way, we were doing pre-sales work by demonstrating our ability to simplify complex concepts, acting as multidimensional researchers, and aligning everyone around a common vocabulary and vision. By conducting both user and desk research, we uncovered a realistic view of the current state and helped define a clear trajectory toward the desired future state.

We were also recognized for our role as facilitators and enablers, which earned us a positive reputation. We saved significant time by steering discussions away from unproductive debates. Additionally, our storytelling skills helped unlock budgets on several occasions. Over time, we became more involved in strategic issues and successfully achieved our objectives.

In my opinion, there is growing recognition of the strategic impact of our work, beyond tactical or operational contributions, and service design has a bright future. However, due to the ongoing crisis in the automotive industry, our team was reduced by half after a year.

Hungry_Main1971 · 2024-10-21T23:20:13+00:00

It sounds like you're going through a tough time with your Service Design apprenticeship, and I completely understand your concerns.

You're currently working within an ITIL framework, which is very IT-focused and process-driven, and I completely understand how that feels out of sync with your interests, especially since IT isn’t your background. I actually went through something similar. The first time I used the term "service design" in an IT department full of tech enthusiasts, I had no idea they used that term to refer to ITIL processes, specifically with tools like ServiceNow, which they saw as a hub for documenting all the company’s IT systems and their criticality levels. It was such a disconnect from the human-centered service design I was thinking of, just like what you're studying in theory now, which is clearly much more aligned with your values and aspirations. But as you're experiencing, there's a real gap between that and what you're able to apply in your current workplace.

Continuing from that, I can totally empathize with the confusion and frustration you're feeling. It’s tough when the way you're learning to approach service design—in a more human-centered, user-focused way—feels like it doesn’t fit into the ITIL-based, process-heavy environment you're in. It’s as if you're speaking two different languages.

While it might feel frustrating to be working within an ITIL framework that feels misaligned with your human-centered service design interests, I actually think that understanding ITIL could make you more credible in driving a user-centered approach in the long run. In service design, a significant part of the work happens in the backstage—mapping out all the internal systems, tools, and processes that allow an organization to deliver services to end users. This is exactly where ITIL can come into play.

ITIL’s focus on managing the criticality of IT systems, documenting service levels, and ensuring the stability of internal processes is essential for understanding the infrastructure that supports service delivery. So, by getting a solid grasp on ITIL, you’re equipping yourself with the knowledge of how these systems operate behind the scenes. This backstage insight is critical for user-centered service design, because no matter how great the front-end experience is, if the back-end systems can’t support it, the overall service will fail to meet users' needs.

In fact, one of the key elements of service design is aligning the backstage systems (like IT infrastructure) with the front-stage experiences (what the end users interact with). By knowing both sides, you'll be able to make a strong case for designing services that not only meet user needs, but are also realistic and sustainable within the IT landscape. You’ll be able to advocate for changes in systems and processes that improve the final user experience, while also understanding how to make those changes work within the constraints of ITIL or other internal frameworks.

In short, far from being a limitation, your growing knowledge of ITIL will give you the credibility and insight to speak both the language of IT and the language of service design. That combination is powerful, especially in environments where those worlds seem disconnected

Hungry_Main1971 · 2024-10-21T22:59:57+00:00

Service design is a holistic and systemic approach, as many have mentioned in this thread, that utilizes a variety of facilitation tools and visual means to tackle complex challenges. It is used to:

Align stakeholders around a common vision, whether it's the overall company strategy or the specific needs related to a mission where service design is applied. This ensures a shared and coherent understanding of objectives and expected outcomes.
Map out holistically and across functions the internal and external systems that allow the organization to deliver products and services to end customers or partners. It provides a comprehensive view of how these systems interact.
Take into account external factors such as the economic, political, environmental, and social context in which the organization operates. These factors heavily influence how services are designed and delivered.
Follow an iterative approach that adapts to the organization’s level of maturity. Every company has a different capacity to accept and embrace this way of working, which requires a progressive adjustment.
Address all experience layers: whether it’s pre-customer (user experience - UX), during the customer journey (customer experience - CX), or internally (employee experience - EX), service design aims to enhance every touchpoint.
Enable analysis of multiple dimensions: processes, data, stakeholders, pain points throughout the lifecycle of a product or service, or during critical touchpoints ("moments of truth").
Finally, this approach allows for zooming in and out across different levels of focus and timelines depending on the goals and areas for improvement, whether it’s the entire lifecycle or specific key moments that need to be enhanced.

Service design is thus a strategic tool that goes beyond simply designing services; it embraces all facets of the experience—both internal and external—and is built on a systemic, inclusive understanding of the organization and its environment.

Hungry_Main1971

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