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Meet Cathrine – the service designer with a passion for inclusion

On digital exclusion and why accessibility is not enough
A person sitting by a desk, writing on a piece of paper. Green plants in the background. Photo.
Malin H. Teles
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Malin H. Teles
That service designers are high in empathic traits is hardly news, and Cathrine Einarsson is no exception. But not everyone carries people and projects away like she does. With her genuine interest in people and inclusion, she has an exceptional ability to see and swap between multiple perspectives. We met with her to discuss service design, and why accessibility not necessarily means inclusion.
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Breaking ground at NAV as the very first service designer

In her early days as a designer, Catrine joined NAV (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) as their first in-house service designer. The Norwegian authorities underwent a significant transformation in their ways of working, developing, and delivering services. Cathrine played an instrumental role in building the organisation's design competence. “It was an enriching and interesting experience to be part of the beginning of that journey. Using my design competence to improve public services and services for people in vulnerable situations is what drives me."
When asked why she left the in-house environment for the consulting world, she says, "For me, it is easier to do my best work as a designer from the outside of an organisation. Of course, this depends on what stage of a process you’re in. But when it comes to innovating and thinking outside the box, I feel that it comes more naturally to me without being part of the organisation. That said, when it comes to implementation and realisation, you depend entirely on in-house capacity and know-how to make your solution come to life in the real world."

Inclusion that goes beyond accessibility

One of the main drivers behind Cathrine’s passion for service design is her wish to make society more inclusive. To make that happen, she believes we must question how we define inclusion. "Often, when discussing inclusive design, we limit ourselves to accessibility from a technical point of view. That is, designing physical and digital products and services that meet directives and standards that people with and without disabilities can use. But we miss the point when we see inclusion only through this lens."
“You might have a website and digital services that adhere to WCAG and Universal Design rules. But if the users don’t understand what you’re asking of them, you will still exclude people.”
Cathrine Einarsson
Cathrine Einarsson
Senior Service Designer, Oslo
She adds, “ Vulnerability and exclusion come in many different shapes and forms, and we need to be particularly aware of the barriers beyond those you can see. Such as, for example, not having the money to invest in expensive equipment to access digital services, or the big cognitive load being in a life crisis, having a serious illness or just trying to buy a bus ticket in a hurry with a crying child. This is especially true when we work with digitalisation. Making things accessible in the digital world is important, but if we end up excluding people who are not present digitally, we need to rethink.”
“You can choose to limit accessibility work to just ticking the boxes. Or you can work with it on a strategic level and ensure that it’s easy for people to understand what they should to do to get what that they need.”
Cathrine Einarsson
Cathrine Einarsson
Senior Service Designer, Oslo

More pragmatism and less pixel perfect user journeys

Making things work in real life is what Cathrine is all about. If that hand drawn journey you just jotted down in the client meeting meets their needs, it's good enough. “It's not about making the perfect service blueprint, but helping your clients understand their users needs. Then you can help your customers or citizens understand what the service is about, and all you have to is deliver on those expectations.”
She continues; “I think we over- and underestimate our users. We underestimate their patience and good will with your service as long as their needs are met, and we overestimate their ability to understand what is simple business logics to us but not logical to the user. If you have to choose, focus on how your service should act when things don’t work, because that is the only thing that is certain. People remember you for how you solve those situations.”
“If you have to choose, focus on how your service should act when things don’t work, because that is the only thing that is certain. People remember you for how you solve those situations.”
Cathrine Einarsson
Cathrine Einarsson
Senior Service Designer, Oslo

Short about Cathrine:

Titel in EGGS: Senior Service Designer
Started in EGGS: 2022
Education: Master in design from AHO
Does in her spare time: Spending time with my husband and my 1.5-year-old. I also enjoy yoga, cycling, and building things in my wood workshop.

Five quick ones

Digital eller analog? Analogue.
Owning or leasing? Depends on what we’re talking about. But spontaneously, I want to say own.
Miro or post its? Post its.
Coffee or tea? Coffee.
Mountains or beach? I have to say mountains. I’m Norwegian, after all.
Get in touch
Want to know more about Cathrine? Reach out.
Cathrine is one of our most experienced service designers and is the right one to discuss service experiences, inclusive services and service innovation.
Cathrine Einarsson
Cathrine Einarsson
Senior Service Designer, Oslo