Aslı Günay
Graduating first in her class from the Industrial Design Department at Middle East Technical University (METU), she spent part of her undergraduate education as an exchange student at Politecnico di Milano. She earned her Master’s degree from the Joint Master’s Program in Design for Interaction between Delft University of Technology and METU. She completed her Ph.D. in the Industrial Design Department at METU, receiving the thesis of the year award, and conducted her postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. She has taught various design courses at METU and has served as an Assistant Professor at Koç University. Additionally, she worked as a specialist user experience researcher at METU UTEST from 2011 to 2020. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Twente. Her primary research areas are design for health and well-being, women's health, and user experience design.
Berivan Eliş
She has cross-sectoral experience in the fields of social development and social innovation. She is the founding partner of Impact Hub Ankara. In 2016, she established İstasyonTEDÜ -TED University Social Innovation Center- and served as its director for five years. She has worked in the fields of youth, accessibility, gender and human security at the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, the United Nations Development Programme, Bilkent University and the Community Volunteers Foundation. She works within the Turkish Social Entrepreneurship Network (TSGA) to develop data-based and inclusive policies in the field of social entrepreneurship in Turkey. She holds a bachelor's degree from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of International Relations, and a master's degree from Bilkent University, Department of International Relations.
Esen Karol
She graduated from Mimar Sinan University Graphic Design Department. She completed her master's degree in Communication Design at New York Pratt Institute with a Fulbright scholarship, with her thesis focusing on the legibility/readability problem. In addition to the success awards in the graphic design exhibitions organized by the Graphic Designers Professional Association, she received the special awards of İhap Hulusi Poster and Bikem Özsunay Graphic Foundation. In 2002, her first solo exhibition “48 × 68” took place in Pratt/Manhattan. In the same year, she gave typography and visual communication lessons as a guest lecturer at Pratt Institute. Between 2003 and 2012, she gave typography and publication design courses at the Department of Visual Communication Design at Istanbul Bilgi University. Her works were published in many reputable international venues. She still works at the design studio Esen Karol Tasarım Ltd, which she founded in 1996, and focuses on the online cultural criticism publication "Manifold", which she launched in 2016.
Hakan Diniz
He received his bachelor degree from Middle East Technical University in the Department of Industrial Design in 2006. He did his graduate studies at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2010, he founded STUDIO HDD, a design office focused on the concepts of "game, toys and entertainment". He still provides design services to many international and local companies, gives lectures at universities and organizes workshops.
Mehtap Öztürk Şengül
After completing her architectural education at Trakya University in 1992, she worked in various companies on furniture design. She works as a faculty member at the Department of Industrial Design at Middle East Technical University, where she completed her master's and doctorate studies, and she focuses her studies on the the role of 3D physical and digital modeling in design education. Şengül was a member of the Board of Directors of ETMK in 2015-2016 and 2018-2021, and still contributes to the professional organization studies both in various commissions and boards of ETMK and in the TBMMOB Chamber of Architects - Industrial Designers Commission.
Nazlı Terzioğlu Özkan
She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in the Department of Industrial Design from Middle East Technical University, and a bachelor's degree in Sociology from the same university. She is currently working as a researcher at Brunel University, London. She completed her practice-based doctorate, financed by the Turkish Ministry of Economy, at the Royal College of Art in 2017. She took part in many international and national research projects funded by Erasmus+, Vinnova and UKRI. She works on the PISCES project (WP6) that is focusing on reducing plastic waste in Indonesia and is an expert in circular economy, consumer perspectives, product lifecycle and design for product repair. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Linköping University in Sweden for three years.
Orhan Irmak
He graduated from METU Industrial Design Department in 2000 ranking first in class. He received his master's degree from Bilkent University and his doctorate degree from İTÜ Industrial Design Department. In 2004, he founded Orhan Irmak Design Company with Gökhan Irmak. Serving many local and global brands in the field of creative packaging design with his team as the design director, Irmak is the owner of more than 50 national and international awards including the one of the most prestigious awards in this field Reddot: best of the best award and many more such as Pentawards, Worldstar, Design Turkey and Packaging Star and Crescent. Orhan Irmak Design is a member of the international association GLBA – Global Local Branding Alliance.
Su Eda Koca
Born in Ankara in 2000, Su Eda graduated from METU G.V.O high school in 2018. She started Industrial Design Department at TED University in 2018 and graduated with high honors in 2022. During her education, she studied at ESADA (Escuela Superior de Arte y Diseño de Andalucía) in Granada, Spain with the Erasmus + program in the fall semester of 2021-2022.
Zeynep Ada Hiçdönmez
Zeynep Ada Hiçdönmez, born in 2001, is a third-year industrial design student at TED University. In addition to her major, she is receiving education and working in user experience design and tile/ceramic art fields. She is also pursuing a minor in Management. She serves as a student representative on the advisory board of the Industrial Design Department at TED University.
