Service design · Customer experience · Strategy
Meel is a design and customer experience studio. We research how people think and feel, then design the services, products and brands that meet them there.
Where our work has taken us
Our team has designed services, products and experiences for public and private organisations around the world, and we bring what we learn in one market to the next.
What we do
Research tells us what is true. Design turns it into something people can use. Training makes it stick inside your organisation.
How a project runs
Every engagement follows the same arc, scaled to the size of the problem.
Your objectives, and what stands between you and them.
Your data, your customers and your market, gathered first-hand.
Where to act first and how the work will be delivered.
Services, products and brand materials, tested with real people.
Launch, handover and training, so the change holds.
Customer experience
If one of these is on your agenda, we should talk. See our CX practice.
Meel Academy
16 workshops, courses and masterclasses in service design, customer experience and design futures. Browse all programmes.
A complete programme for practitioners new to service design, from first principles to leading projects. A 90-minute live session each week, plus six to eight hours of self-study.
See the programmeThe foundations of journey mapping, plus journey management software, validation, and telling the journey's story to stakeholders. Use the insights to co-create the future journey and a roadmap of quick wins and longer-term projects.
See the programmeDesign fiction applied to real service design challenges. Participants build future scenarios free of today's market and technology limits, then use them to question the present.
See the programmeWays to work with us
Most clients start with a defined piece of work and move to a retainer once the partnership proves itself.
An ongoing design partner. A set number of days each month for research, design and advice as needs come up.
Commit one phase at a time, from discovery to design to delivery, with a decision point between each.
A fixed scope with named outputs, such as a UX assessment report, a service blueprint or a brand bible.
Services
From the first round of research to a trained in-house team, each practice can run on its own or as part of a larger programme.
We find out what your organisation already knows, what it only assumes, and what your customers actually do. Then we turn that evidence into decisions you can defend.
Explore PracticeAn evidence-based view of where your digital product stands, what gets in your users' way, and what to fix first.
Explore PracticeWe design digital products around what users are trying to do, test them with real people, and stay with your developers until the design ships.
Explore PracticeWe take digital and physical products from first research to tested prototype and into development, with users involved at every stage.
Explore PracticeCustomers experience your service as one journey. Behind it are people, processes, systems and partners. We design both sides together.
Explore Creative studioOur creative studio builds brands from strategy to identity to campaign, so every visual and verbal detail says the same thing.
Explore PracticeWe help organisations understand the experience they deliver today, design the one their customers deserve, and embed it across teams so it lasts.
Explore TrainingWorkshops, courses and masterclasses that build service design and customer experience skills inside your team.
ExploreKnow before you build
We find out what your organisation already knows, what it only assumes, and what your customers actually do. Then we turn that evidence into decisions you can defend.
We map what your business already knows about its customers and market, and where the evidence runs out.
We define who your users really are: their segments, contexts and cultural nuances, beyond the persona on the wall.
We pick the methods that fit the question, from interviews and field visits to surveys and analytics, and go and find out.
We look for patterns across what we observe and turn them into concrete improvements to your product or service.
We evaluate your processes to see how consistently they contribute to your organisation's objectives, and where they fall short.
We agree the purpose of the research and the questions it must answer before any fieldwork starts.
We plan and run the research with the methods that suit your question, timeline and audience.
We turn raw findings into clear insights and show the gap between today's experience and what customers need.
We list the areas for innovation and the adaptations that will make the solution fit your market.
See your product as your users do
An evidence-based view of where your digital product stands, what gets in your users' way, and what to fix first.
How, when and why people use your product, mapped step by step.
The main usability issues, challenges and opportunities, with recommendations for a smoother experience.
A prioritised plan for your product, backed by the research behind it.
A review of your existing analytics and reports to find usage patterns, behaviours and bottlenecks.
The local context that makes an experience feel relevant to the people using it.
Senior designers review your product against recognised usability principles and rate each issue by severity.
We watch real users complete key tasks in a controlled setting and record where they struggle.
We observe your product in the places people actually use it: at home, at work, on the move.
We step through core tasks as a first-time user would, to find where understanding breaks down.
We benchmark your experience against local and international competitors.
You see where your product stands and which steps will help it grow.
Their behaviours, expectations and motivations, documented and shared.
Recent interface and design trends inform every recommendation.
We evaluate against established usability standards and best practice.
We close the gap between business assumptions and real use by studying the environment your users live in.
Interfaces people understand at first glance
We design digital products around what users are trying to do, test them with real people, and stay with your developers until the design ships.
We learn about your users, their needs and the context they work in.
We work with you and your users, benchmarked against current practice, to shape the right experience.
We design in rounds, folding in feedback each time until the design is polished.
We validate designs with real users before they reach development.
We work alongside your developers so the design comes to life as intended.
A practical five-week programme for product teams. Less theory, more practice.
Users and stakeholders are our best source of learning, so we test, validate and improve with them at every opportunity.
AR, VR, mixed reality and IoT. We design interactions that span several technologies instead of a single screen.
Context drives every decision, including the social and cultural nuances of how and where a device is used.
We help you set up an in-house UX lab with the essential tools and devices, and a lean team to run it.
From idea to something people want to use
We take digital and physical products from first research to tested prototype and into development, with users involved at every stage.
Every product decision traces back to research with the people who will use it.
A product has to be wanted, buildable and commercially sound. We design for all three.
Quick, cheap prototypes answer questions before they become expensive ones.
Testing with users decides what moves into development.
Market, user and competitor research that defines the opportunity.
Concept, form and interaction design for digital and physical products.
A phased plan from first release to future versions.
Clickable, functional and physical prototypes to test ideas quickly.
Close support through engineering and production so the design survives the build.
3D models and printed prototypes for physical products and devices.
Testing with target users at each stage, from concept to pre-launch.
Design the whole service, not only the screen
Customers experience your service as one journey. Behind it are people, processes, systems and partners. We design both sides together.
We map the parts that deliver your service, the wider ecosystem, and how they interact.
We capture today's journey and the back-stage processes behind it, including pain points and aspirations, then design the future journey.
A detailed blueprint that resolves pain points across front-stage touchpoints and back-stage operations.
A roadmap that guides your service from assessment to implementation.
Training for your staff in service design and its methods, so they can design better services themselves.
We assess service quality, identify gaps, and research how customers perceive your service.
We redesign existing services to raise their quality and make them more useful to customers.
Touchpoints are where services are delivered. We make each one useful and easy to use.
We set up and run a service design lab inside your organisation, building lasting capability and a culture of service excellence.
Be bold and recognisable
Our creative studio builds brands from strategy to identity to campaign, so every visual and verbal detail says the same thing.
A strong brand image and brand equity that make you the first choice for your audience.
Strategy, direction, name and identity, and everything else the brand needs to do its job.
Their behaviours, expectations and motivations, so the brand speaks to them.
Markets change quickly. We look for openings that keep you ahead of competitors.
Set your vision, mission, goals, audience, brand proposition, tone and voice.
A reference for every strategic decision, useful whenever you launch a product, service or campaign.
Visual guidelines and all brand assets, with clear rules on how to use them.
Campaign strategy, copy and design, supported by illustration, photography, video and motion.
Our UI/UX team brings your brand to your website and mobile app.
Your objectives and what stands in the way of reaching them.
Your existing data and the target market.
When and where to deliver on your goals.
Visual and verbal brand materials that land with your audience.
Bringing the brand to life in digital and print.
Diagnose, design and deliver the experience
We help organisations understand the experience they deliver today, design the one their customers deserve, and embed it across teams so it lasts.
Where the experience stands today, measured and mapped.
The future experience, designed with customers and staff.
The changes embedded in teams, tools and habits.
Customers should experience one organisation, not a set of departments.
Connect customer experience to brand strategy and business goals.
Find and fix the moments that push customers away.
Make it easier and more rewarding for customers to do more with you.
Turn satisfied customers into people who recommend you.
Meel Academy
Practical training in service design, customer experience and design futures. Every programme can be tailored and run in-house for your team.
We tailor this programme to your team, sector and goals. Ask us for the full outline.
We tailor this programme to your team, sector and goals. Ask us for the full outline.
We tailor this programme to your team, sector and goals. Ask us for the full outline.
Work
Research, service design, customer experience and product work for public and private organisations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and North America.
Selected work
Each one started with the people on the receiving end of a service and ended with something they could use.
Service design · UX/UI · Research
Mygrants helps migrants and refugees build skills and find work. We redesigned the service around the people who use it, starting with interviews with refugees, international students, immigrants and legal consultants. The research shaped a new service concept and a digital prototype, refined through user testing.
Research · Service design
Santagostino runs medical clinics inside Esselunga supermarkets and wanted to know whether to grow the model or find other ways to reach patients. We interviewed doctors, patients, staff and prospective patients at two locations, ran surveys, and built personas and journey maps. Patients were highly satisfied with the model. The main pain points were uneven doctor availability across locations and low visibility inside the stores.
Co-creation workshop
T.Ospito is a non-profit whose volunteers support people accompanying relatives and friends to hospital in Milan. We designed and ran a co-creation workshop with its stakeholders. Together they mapped the service, found its pain points, and built on each other's ideas to shape an improved version of it.
Interaction design · UX/UI
A sleep-tracking app designed from the ground up. We started with an analysis of competing apps, mapped the user flows, and built low-fidelity prototypes. Several rounds of user testing narrowed the options down to the flow people found easiest to use.
Clients and partners
Also in our studio
Alongside our core practices we take on a small number of industrial design projects, from healthcare devices to children's toys.
A smart glove for people with arthritis. It eases daily discomfort and brings personal IDs, social apps and interactions into one interface in the palm of the hand, designed so older users can operate it with minimal effort.
A learning toy grounded in cognitive psychology. Each screw-on leg carries one to ten dots and a different fastening, such as a buckle or buttons, so children practise counting and everyday tasks through play.
A modular shelving unit, taken from design research through 3D modelling to a working prototype.
A fresh take on the conventional hair dryer, developed through 3D modelling and rendering.
Ways to work with us
An ongoing design partner. A set number of days each month for research, design and advice as needs come up.
Commit one phase at a time, from discovery to design to delivery, with a decision point between each.
A fixed scope with named outputs, such as a UX assessment report, a service blueprint or a brand bible.
Knowledge Hub
Free toolkits, articles and conversations for anyone designing services and experiences.
Toolkits
Templates and step-by-step guides for running design thinking sessions with your team.
Ask for early accessJourney maps, blueprints and stakeholder maps, ready to print or use on screen.
Ask for early accessMethods and prompts for imagining future scenarios and testing ideas against them.
Ask for early accessJournal and podcast
Articles on service design, customer experience and design futures, written from real projects.
Conversations with the people designing services and experiences around the world.
About Meel
Good design makes sense to the mind and makes people lean in. Our name says both, in two languages.
The mind, the senses, and the mood you are in. Everything a customer experiences ends up here.
An inclination, a leaning toward something. It is what a good experience creates in people.
A future where the services people rely on every day, public and private, are designed around the people who use them.
To help organisations understand the people they serve, design experiences that earn their loyalty, and build the skills to keep improving on their own.
We start with people, and we test our way to answers instead of guessing.
We look past quick fixes for ideas that change the outcome.
We design with AR, VR, IoT and AI where they help people, and leave them out where they don't.
Wherever our clients are.
Our team has delivered projects in 16 countries and territories across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and North America, for government bodies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, non-profits and start-ups.
Asif Muhammad
Asif founded Meel to help organisations change how their services feel to the people who use them. He trained as an industrial designer at NUST in Pakistan, then earned a Master in Service Design at Politecnico di Milano, one of Europe's leading design schools. He has since worked on more than 65 projects with government bodies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, non-profits and start-ups across Europe, the Middle East and beyond.
His approach is simple: bring design thinking into design doing, so every insight turns into something people can use.
CCXP
Certified Customer Experience Professional · CXPA
Fan Engagement
Barça Innovation Hub
Contact
A few lines are enough to start. We will come back with questions, a suggested approach and the right way to work together.
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