Every line you've ever stood in was designed by someone — or it wasn't. Service designer Sam Borri on airports, Uber pricing, and why nobody plans for when things go wrong.
They're not selling your data. They're using it on you. Service designer Sam Borri on the pricing tricks hiding in the apps you use every day.
Key moments / timestamps
Time
Beat
00:00
Intro — mech eng at Northeastern → innovation engineer at New Balance → master's in Engineering Design Innovation, Northwestern
01:39
What "product design" actually means: research → prototype → the coffee-machine-for-old-people example (and "all I want is somebody to bring me coffee")
03:45
Where design ends and engineering begins; engineers as "the wet blanket"; Tony Stark in a cave
06:18
Why engineering: math + physics + psychology, wanted to be a toy designer, hated a Hasbro cost-engineering internship — "I'm not going into Big Toy ever again"
08:33
Choosing the program: Stanford d.school, CMU HCI, and why Northwestern's breadth (service + business) won. Don Norman on the curriculum
09:00
The realization: her senior engineer built extras for fun in his free time — "I'm not like the rest of the people here"
12:53
Service design defined — the airport as a mapped journey; signage; "what does premium mean? Am I premium?"
14:30
Airbnb as the good example: vetting, address withheld until booked, in-app messaging, timed reminders, built-in liability
16:44
Japan as the crown jewel; cane holders; color-coded subway vs. the NYC Q/R/W all being the same color
18:29
The best target for service design: government. Her autistic brother's fed-cap job application = a 30-page PDF to print, sign and mail
21:12
JPMorgan hiring service designers — "all the good experiences are going to rich people"
21:51
Co-design — humility as the base of design. The #1 way to fail is assuming you know what people want
23:36
The merry-go-round water pump case: outsiders "fixed" a village, kids got bored, system backed up
24:19
The login screen that rejected two-letter surnames
25:33
The KPMG job: accessibility dashboard, and pushing back on "just build an AI search"
31:58
Front end vs. back end — the pharmacy, and whether you should see how the sausage is made
34:20
The Genius Bar: why the staff look like nerds, the waitlist, the text message — and troubleshooting in front of youso you trust them
37:45
Why airports/hotels/pharmacies hurt: silos, and nobody designs for when things go wrong
38:15
The pre-check story — a handwritten signature on her ticket that nobody downstream could read
40:32
"People don't read." The Lincoln Park Zoo gorilla sign
42:35
The ice cream menu at the front of the line; the coffee shop with lids, straws and milk in three places and two "no liquids" trash cans
44:51
Desire paths — "just put a sidewalk there. Just put a bucket there."
46:08
Childhood: wanted to be an inventor, and specifically Maurice from Beauty and the Beast. Also, briefly, an accountant, at age seven
47:09
Book rec: Nudge — and the 401(k) auto-enrollment study (~82% wanted in, ~20% opted in)
50:05
Dark patterns — confirmshaming unsubscribe copy, Netflix cancellation mazes, pre-checked boxes
52:38
The Uber examples — the Lyft price-check, and the gyroscope-tilt "drunk detection" rumor her professor (ex-Uber AI) wouldn't confirm or deny
54:33
Walmart grocery — a former student PM priced up last-minute/desperate delivery orders
55:22
"They're not selling your data. They're using it against you."
56:00
The CTA/Dunkin' collaboration exercise — GPS data as a profit opportunity
58:41
What data could do instead: "you pass a Citi Bike, here's your route, it's faster than the train"
59:15
What's next: physical/in-person service work, ideally social services. "I really want to chase liking what I'm doing"
