The Future of Product and Service Design Interview with Erin Helcl

In this edition of NovusNorth’s thought leadership conversation, Dave Cowing had the opportunity to speak with Erin Helcl, Founder of New Helio Strategies.

Erin is the founder of New Helio Strategies and brings over two decades of experience leading experience design and transformation within complex, highly regulated industries such as telecom, retail, and financial services. Her work focuses on helping leaders and teams shape what’s next—designing services, building trust, and navigating disruption. A central theme in her approach is ensuring people can see themselves in the future; without that vision, they risk disengaging. Erin’s recent research and writing, including her article “The Future of Product and Service Design is Now,” explores how automation and evolving roles impact individuals—and how thoughtful design can help them grow into what’s next.

NovusNorth is a leading innovator in digital experience and platforms for the financial services industry and provides product management, user experience design, and development services.

Key Takeaways:

• AI as a Design Partner: Product managers are increasingly expected to combine decision-making with soft skills, such as team rallying, collaboration, and communication, to align and drive multidisciplinary teams.

• Trust and Ethics are Crucial: Designing for trust and implementing ethical practices are essential in AI-powered systems and experiences.

• Human-Centered Design Remains Important: Despite AI advancements, keeping users at the center of the design process through direct interaction and empathy is vital.

• Evolving Designer Roles: The role of designers is shifting towards systems thinking, sense-making, and orchestrating complex ecosystems.

• Reskilling and Education: Organizations need to focus on reskilling employees and helping them see themselves in AI-powered futures