What SERVICE DESIGN COLLEGE does

Service Design College is a peer-to-peer learning platform and design education brand operating under Yabber VOF, a Dutch partnership headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. Founded in 2015 by Inge Keizer as an extension of the Service Design Days conference, the company targets practicing designers and adjacent professionals seeking human-centered design capability development. Its core offering is the proprietary 360° Design Mindset Framework, a year-long curriculum introducing 10 design abilities (e.g., Solve for Tomorrow, Cope with Complexity, Design for Transformation), complemented by an Open Badge credentialing system issued via Badgr. Technology infrastructure is lightweight and standard: Zoom for live cohort sessions, MURAL for visual collaboration, Stripe and Eventbrite for payments, and Google Analytics for traffic analysis, with the SDC Campus serving as the engagement platform hosting over 4,000 community members.

The product portfolio spans self-paced online courses priced EUR 395-2,100, time-bound cohort courses (6-12 weeks), a Barcelona leadership retreat priced EUR 3,650-3,900, and tailor-made corporate learning programs delivered virtually or on client premises. Named enterprise clients include HP and Philips as flagship tailor-made program references, alongside Zurich Insurance, Lloyds Banking Group, and IBM, IKEA, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Laerdal, ISDIN, Red Cross, and the Estonian Government as collaborators on the annual Student Service Design Challenge initiated in 2019. Annual events (Service Design Days 2016-2023, rebranded as Beyond the Map in 2025) drive top-of-funnel awareness and ticket revenue.

The go-to-market is community-led, leveraging the free Campus membership as a top-of-funnel feeder into paid courses and corporate programs, supplemented by direct enterprise sales for tailor-made engagements. Distribution is hybrid: self-serve online enrollment for individuals and field sales for corporate accounts, with global reach across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The company has 13 employees, no disclosed institutional funding, and operates as a privately held partnership with founder/partner ownership.

Name

SERVICE DESIGN COLLEGE

Legal name

Yabber VOF

Website

https://servicedesign.college

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Service Design College is a Dutch-operated peer-to-peer learning platform offering service design education to a global community of 4,000+ designers and professionals via self-paced and cohort courses, leadership retreats, and tailor-made corporate programs for clients including HP, Philips, Zurich Insurance, and Lloyds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Education & Professional Training

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Design Colleges (Graphic, Industrial, UX/UI, Interior) (EDAHAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Learning Strategy, Instructional Design & Content Development (BPACANAG)

Keywords

• Service design education
• Design professional training
• Online learning courses
• Corporate design training
• Peer-to-peer learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Self-paced Course Fees: Individual professional learners purchase self-paced courses ranging from EUR 395 to EUR 2,100. Courses include video lessons, exercises, downloadable materials, and peer collaboration. Materials remain available for 12 weeks.
2. Cohort-based Course Fees: Time-bound courses with scheduled live sessions (6-12 weeks) where participants join at the same time, attend weekly 2-hour interactive classes via Zoom, and collaborate on exercises together.
3. Premium In-Person Retreats: Intensive 4-day learning retreats in physical locations (e.g., Barcelona) priced at EUR 3,650-3,900 including accommodation, meals, and all activities. Limited to 20 participants.
4. Corporate/Tailor-Made Programs: Customized learning programs for enterprise clients including design talk series, workshop programs, and in-company mentors. Delivered virtually or at client premises. HP and Philips referenced as case study clients.
5. Conference and Event Revenue: Annual Service Design Days conference (rebranded as Beyond the Map in 2025) and Student Service Design Challenge generate revenue through ticket sales and serve as flagship brand awareness events.
6. Campus Membership: Free membership to the online Campus community of 4000+ members, which drives enrollment in paid learning activities. Revenue is generated indirectly through course conversions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Service Design College is a peer-to-peer learning community and design school offering instructor-led and self-paced courses, workshops, training programs, and corporate learning experiences centered on service design, systemic design, customer journey management, design leadership, and related human-centered design disciplines. Courses are delivered through the SDC Campus online platform and via customized in-company or in-person programs, priced from EUR 395 for self-paced courses up to EUR 3,900 for premium in-person retreats, with a global community of 4,000+ members.

Product overview

Service Design College is a peer-to-peer learning platform and design school offering a comprehensive portfolio of educational products centered around service design and human-centered design thinking. The core offering is the 360° Series, a year-long learning program introducing 10 design abilities. This is complemented by individual self-paced courses (Service Design Fundamentals, Systemic Design for Tackling Complexity, Design for Public Services, Mastering Service Design, Business Design for Sustainable Growth and Innovation, Strategic Foresight for Positive Change), instructor-led courses (Customer Journey Management Essentials, Customer Journey Management Advanced), specialized training programs (Design Leadership for Next-Gen Leaders), and intensive retreats (Leadership Retreat). All offerings are delivered through the SDC Campus online platform which supports peer-to-peer learning with over 4000 members. The college also organizes annual events including the Student Service Design Challenge and, formerly, the Service Design Days conference (now rebranded as Beyond the Map). Corporate clients can access tailor-made learning programs delivered virtually or in-person.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Service Design Fundamentals (self-paced) A complete introduction to service design covering fundamentals and methodologies, exploring human-centred design, holistic perspective, iterative process, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and measurable impact. Approximately 40-50 hours of material available for 12 weeks. Priced from EUR 495.
• Systemic Design for Tackling Complexity (self-paced) Focuses on thinking, acting, designing, and organizing for systems change. Uses the book 'Design Journeys through Complex Systems' and includes the Systemic Design Toolkit on Miro. Approximately 50-60 hours of material. Priced from EUR 745.
• Design for Public Services (self-paced) Provides context, mental models, and tools for designing services in public organizations, blending service design, public policy studies, behavioural economics, and futures thinking. Approximately 40-50 hours of material. Priced from EUR 650.
• Customer Journey Management Deep-Dive (self-paced) Self-paced executive training for CEOs, C-suite leaders, business unit managers, and functional leaders to assess relevance, investment, resources, and involvement in customer-centricity. Part of the Customer Journey Management Mastery Program. Approximately 8 hours of material available for 12 weeks. Priced from EUR 590.
• Customer Journey Management Essentials 6-week introductory cohort course on Customer Journey Management providing principles, methods, and tools for managing customer journeys within organizations. Includes 6 live interactive classes of 2 hours each. Part of the Customer Journey Management Mastery Program. Priced from EUR 950.
• Customer Journey Management Advanced 12-week advanced cohort course for senior professionals taking them beyond CJM basics into advanced application. Covers governance models, data-driven practices, leadership and organizational practices for embedding customer journey management sustainably. Part of the Customer Journey Management Mastery Program. Priced from EUR 2,100.
• Mastering Service Design (self-paced) Self-paced course focusing on services as ecosystems for value generation. Combines theory with practice through exercises and a real-world case. Approximately 60-70 hours of material. Priced from EUR 695.
• Business Design for Sustainable Growth and Innovation (self-paced) Self-paced course enabling designers and entrepreneurs to merge design thinking and business strategy for sustainable innovation. Approximately 40-50 hours of material. Priced from EUR 395.
• Strategic Foresight for Positive Change (self-paced) Self-paced course exploring how understanding the changing socio-economic, political and cultural landscape can help anticipate change and identify opportunities. Approximately 40-50 hours of material across 6 chapters.
• Design Leadership for Next-Gen Leaders 5-week training program helping designers transition into leadership roles. Co-organised with BIS Publishers and includes e-book 'Design Leadership Chronicles' by Marzia Arico. Four 2-hour live sessions. Priced from EUR 620.
• Leadership Retreat (Design Leadership for Design Leaders) 4-day intensive learning retreat in Barcelona focused on designing and leading teams and organizations. Covers three key areas: People, Practice, and Platforms. Limited to 20 participants with accommodation included. Priced EUR 3,650 (shared) / EUR 3,900 (single).
• 360° Series (Year-Long Learning Program) Year-long learning program introducing 10 design abilities that help professionals navigate and create change. Abilities include Solve for Tomorrow, Embrace a Business Mentality, Mind the Consequences, Involve All Stakeholders, Cope with Complexity, Own the Narrative, Adapt and Pivot, Research Radically, Measure the Impact, and Design for Transformation.
• SDC Campus (Online Community Platform) Peer-to-peer learning platform and online community with over 4,000 members. Enables professionals to share knowledge, ideas and experience, with interchangeable roles as mentor/mentee, teacher/learner. Features include courses, workshops, Campfires, Mentorship, and live discussions.
• Tailor-Made Corporate Learning Programs Customized learning programs for organizations including design talk series, interactive workshop programs, and in-company mentors. Delivered virtually via online learning platform or in-person at the organization's premises. Featured programs for HP and Philips Design.
• Student Service Design Challenge Global 5-month learning program celebrating and inspiring the next generation of designers. Initiated by Philips and Service Design College in 2019, with collaborations including IBM, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, IKEA, Laerdal, ISDIN, Red Cross, and Estonian Government.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4000 members in the online Campus community
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• PhilipscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Long-term partnership for tailor-made corporate learning programs and co-development of the Student Service Design Challenge. Philips Design collaborates with SDC to involve new generations of designers in creating people-centered services.
• IBMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating organization in the Student Service Design Challenge since 2019, supporting design education for students worldwide.
• IKEAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating organization in the Student Service Design Challenge and corporate partner. Business Designer Daniel Haltia serves as speaker on SDC Campus.
• LaerdalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating organization in the Student Service Design Challenge, supporting design innovation for societal impact.
• Zurich InsurancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for customer journey management education. Itziar Pobes, CX design capabilities lead at Zurich, serves as course tutor.
• HPflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship case study client for tailor-made design talk series programs. HP Innovation Talks featured employees from around the globe learning from design professionals.
• PolestarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as collaborative partner on website, contributing to design education ecosystem.
• Ellen MacArthur FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating organization in the Student Service Design Challenge, bringing circular economy expertise to student design challenges.
• BIS PublishersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBook publishing partner co-organizing Design Leadership training with SDC. BIS Publishers co-developed the Design Leadership Chronicles book program.
• Estonian GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating organization in the Student Service Design Challenge, contributing public sector innovation perspective.
• BAU (Barcelona School of Design)minorOthersEducational institution partner in Barcelona, contributing to design education network.
• BCD (BCD.es)minorOthersDesign school partner contributing to the global design education ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Designlab: An online design school offering mentor-led cohort courses in UX, UI, and product design. Directly comparable in cohort-based live session model, professional learner audience, and course pricing band.
• IDEO U: The online learning arm of design consultancy IDEO, offering courses in human-centered design, design thinking, and design leadership. Closely comparable to SDC's 360° design mindset and design leadership courses, serving the same individual learner and corporate audience.
• Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g): A leading UX training and research firm offering courses, certifications, and workshops in UX and design — directly overlapping SDC's audience of design professionals. Both sell premium design training to individual practitioners and corporate teams and compete for the same enterprise training budget.
• General Assembly: A global provider of bootcamps and short-form courses in UX design, product management, and data. Overlaps SDC's cohort-based course format, corporate training programs, and career-focused learner segment, though with a broader tech curriculum.
• Cooper Professional Education (Cooper-Hewitt): The training arm of design consultancy Cooper, offering courses in interaction design, UX, and design strategy. Comparable to SDC in audience (professional designers), content depth, and premium B2C/B2B course pricing model.
• Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF): The largest online UX and interaction design education community with hundreds of thousands of members and a course catalog overlapping SDC's design fundamentals, customer journey, and design leadership content. Both monetize through individual course subscriptions, community memberships, and corporate offerings in the same professional design learner segment.

Emerging players

• IxDA (Interaction Design Association): A global professional association for interaction and experience designers that runs conferences, local events, and educational programming. Comparable as a community-led design education platform serving the same practitioner audience, though as a membership organization rather than course provider.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: A major MOOC platform offering design courses (often from universities) including service design, design thinking, and UX at lower price points. Comparable as a competing channel for self-paced design learners, though with much broader curriculum.
• Frog (frog design): A global design and innovation consultancy with educational programs and corporate training offerings. Comparable as an enterprise-facing design training provider and as a source of practitioner-tutors; broader portfolio but overlapping enterprise client base.

Regional players

• Domus Academy: An Italian design school offering master's programs, short courses, and corporate training in service design, product design, and business design. Comparable in design curriculum and European B2B/B2C learner base, though focused on longer-form degree programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/service-design-college

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SERVICE DESIGN COLLEGE