Bio.
Born in the Netherlands and raised in Istanbul, I come from a creative family background of designers and architects. I have studied Industrial design in one of the most prominent Art and Design Schools of Turkey, the former Applied Arts Academy which carried the Bauhaus heritage with an honour degree. The formation as a designer I got back in the 90’s was workshop oriented and form-function-identity triangle was the core challenge. Having completed my undergraduate studies in Istanbul, I felt the need for a more conceptual design approach. I decided to go to Italy in 1998 to Domus Academy, one of the most prominent design schools worldwide to broaden my vision in a collaborative, international and creative environment. Domus Academy was a mythical creative atmosphere where I had the chance to meet famous designers and design philosophers. I have participated in numerous workshops and projects in various fields of design. I completed the Master in Design programme at Domus Academy, Milan, with a master project on Strategic Design-Corporate Visions- with Marco Susani and Emilio Genovesi.
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"If you are not curious, forget it."
Achille Castiglioni
After professional experience as a product designer I decided to continue my career in design research. Since 2000, I have been lecturing, researching, and conducting research and creative projects and workshops in the field of design in Istanbul and abroad. Over the years I built strong bonds with Italy for publications and design networks.
With a comparative hypothesis on Italy and Turkey's cultural similarities, in 2009 I gained a PhD with my dissertation focusing on industrial design as added value and global competitiveness for the Turkish Jewellery Industry and proposed a model with reference to the ‘Made in Italy’ value model. With the outcomes of my PhD dissertation, I conducted a post-doc research project funded by TÜBÄ°TAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) with a budget of appx. 40.000 GBP. The project is titled: "Crafts-design and innovation interrelations as a resource of creative economies and as part of intangible heritage: ‘Living Human Treasures’ of the Grand Bazaar of Ä°stanbul." Through this research I had the chance to document the craft heritage of the last living jewellery masters, initiate the registration process of the craftsman for UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage inventory, and to disseminate the underrepresented Armenian Jewellers of Ä°stanbul through exhibitions and publications. The substance of the project intended to find out to what extent Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar of Ä°stanbul) and its surrounding buildings, identified as the oldest and most significant jewellery production centre, cluster dating back to 1461.
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The findings of the research project were presented to the public with an exhibition that I curated. The exhibition was designed to offer a modern perspective on jewellery design by unveiling the mystery of the workshops of the last generation of masters that continue to produce using traditional techniques and contribute infinitely to the character and essence of Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar of Ä°stanbul) Jewellery-Production. The conceptual backbone of the exhibition called ‘Gem and Craft: In Pursuit of the Masters of Grand Bazaar was based on the results of the academic research project. In the exhibition, viewers were presented the opportunity to observe how the Ottoman production tradition is reflected in the continuum of present-day Grand Bazaar Jewellery-Production environment. The exhibition will bring to viewers the splendour of the unique pieces of jewellery crafted at the counters of the last living master of the globally renowned Grand Bazaar jewellery. The exhibition remained open for 11 months and has welcomed 33.00 visitors.
Throughout my research and teaching career I have sought cross collaboration with different disciplines, diverse institutions worldwide, among which are Design Academy Eindhoven, NL, RIT Rochester Institute of Technology, USA, SALT Research, Ä°stanbul, Bernard van Leer Foundation, NL, Columbia University’s Studio X, Istanbul.
My teaching commitments consist of theoretical and applied courses at undergraduate and graduate level. She has been conducting design studios of all levels in the past 20 years with cross collaborations of various kinds such as international educational institutions, industries, craftspeople, NGOs. My teaching philosophy is to create novel, cross-disciplinary courses as well at undergraduate and graduate level. I initiated the very first Legal Design Studio in collaboration with the Faculty of Law at Kadir Has University in Turkey in 2022. I also teach Design Thinking and Design Research Methodologies to non-designers from all disciplines. A short list of courses I have been conducting in the last decade; Industrial Design Studio (2nd and 3rd year), Graduation Project Studio (4th year), Design Management (postgraduate), Interdisciplinary Studio (postgraduate), Legal Design Studio (Interdisciplinary 4th year).
Apart from research and teaching I am actively the Chief Academic Advisor to the Ä°stanbul Metropolitan Municipality, UNESCO Design Cities Network Çırpıcı Design Centre (2021-2022). I have been the Design Consultant for the Rectorate of Kadir Has University for Corporate Products. I have been advising Master Thesis and an active PhD jury member for numerous master students at Kadir Has University as well as Ä°stanbul Technical University and Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University. I also perform as jury member for prominent design competitions such as; Design Turkey Industrial Design Awards, 2018. Jury member for JTR 11th Turkish Jewellery Exporters' Association Design Competition, 2019.
Areas of Interest and Research
Product Design and Creativity, Strategic Design and Design Management, Competitiveness and Design, Crafts and Design, Jewellery Design, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Crafts Based Industries
