Burcu Avcı
Experience designer · Design researcher · Design strategist
- Based in
- Belgium
- burcuavci@gmail.com
- Phone
- +32 487 65 58 63
- Web
- burcuavci.com
- in/burcuavci
I design experiences: what people go through, how it feels along the way, and what stays with them afterwards. My practice is grounded in human-centred design. Over fourteen years of practice I worked on products, services, brands, exhibitions and interfaces, from early research through QA to post-launch, often in Agile teams. I reframe problems by giving different stakeholders a voice, and I rarely take a step without reading the research first. Today I work across business and art, and I want to spend the next chapter on design for impact.
Now
-
2020 – now
Independent practice and career break
Belgium
Stepped back from client work to retrain, write and make.
- One: At a Time · Coffee edition, art project and exhibition (October 2026)
- Photo Sculptures, an art and technology project translating abstract photographs into 3D-printed sculptures (2026)
- Essays on creativity, philosophy and lived experience, including “Education?” and “The Tools of the Tool Makers”
- Full-time front-end and back-end web development course, taught in Dutch (2021)
- Dutch to C1 level (2023)
Work experience
- Sep 2019 – May 2020
U-Sentric
Senior UX and usability expert · Leuven, Belgium
Design research and usability projects supporting the digital transformation of the European Commission: running user tests and writing usability reports with UX recommendations.
Clients: European Commission (DG COMM, DG JUST, DG DEVCO)
- Nov 2018 – Aug 2019
Eurofins
Quality assurance test engineer · Hasselt and Brussels, Belgium
Worked in QA to understand the back end of digital products. Tested digital TV platforms with functional and non-functional testing based on ISTQB methods, in Agile teams.
Clients: Vodafone, Telenet, VOO (on site, Brussels)
- Nov 2017 – May 2018
Intago
Customer experience analyst, UX architect · Hasselt, Belgium
Developed digital solutions and strategies from customer needs. Interviews and contextual inquiries, framed into business model canvases, stakeholder maps, personas, user stories and customer journey maps. Moved from as-is to to-be through wireframes, service blueprints, roadmaps and mockups, and built CX toolkits and workshop materials.
Clients: Randstad, Baloise Insurance, Viabuild, RBFA
- Oct 2015 – Mar 2017
Branding to Be
Founder, brand experience designer · Istanbul, Turkey
Design consultancy helping entrepreneurs build or improve their brands in line with their desired customer experience and business goals.
- Oct 2013 – Oct 2015
Co-MADE multidisciplinary design studio
Co-founder, brand builder · Istanbul, Turkey
Product, interior and graphic design studio. Led branding and interaction design projects and set up business strategy and processes.
- Sep 2012 – Jun 2014
Sabancı University
Teaching assistant, part time · Istanbul, Turkey
Visual communication design studio, typography, web design, history of visual communication design, documentary film, Caravaggio, Renaissance visuality, history of photography.
- Sep 2011 – Aug 2012
ETMK, Industrial Designers’ Society of Turkey
Design manager, part time · Istanbul, Turkey
For the Virtual Museum of Industrial Design of Turkey: presentations, website interfaces, signage, print, fair stands, social media and newsletters.
- Jan 2010 – Jan 2011
Trio Design
Exhibition designer · Istanbul, Turkey
Exhibitions, fair stands, interiors and identities with a focus on customer experience.
Clients: Nokia, YKK, Domino’s Pizza, Istanbul Auto Show
- Jan 2008 – Sep 2009
Iltek Media
Interaction designer · Istanbul, Turkey
Interactive presentations and narratives for corporate events: press conferences, executive meetings, product launches and CEO speeches.
Clients: Turkish Airlines, Vodafone, İş Bank, Koç Group, Doğuş Group
- Aug 2006 – Sep 2007
Terminal Design and Space Solutions
Exhibition designer · Istanbul, Turkey
Exhibitions, fair stands, interior units and modular stores with Burkhardt Leitner’s Red Dot awarded modular systems. Contributed to more than 200 projects.
Clients: Visa, Banksoft, Tariş, Garanti GYO
Education
- 2012 – 2015
MA in Visual Communication Design
Sabancı University · Istanbul · CGPA 3.88/4.00, high honour
New media, interaction design, art, technology and culture, photography. Audited typography, interface design, visual thinking, digital marketing, strategic brand management and consumer behaviour.
- 2002 – 2006
Bachelor of Industrial Design
Middle East Technical University · Ankara · CGPA 3.09/4.00, honour
Design management, marketing, consumer psychology, ergonomics, materials and manufacturing, meaning in design, interaction design.
Publications
- Dec 2015
The age of glance: multitasking with mobile devices in contemporary cultural industry
Journal article · Metaverse Creativity 5(2), pp. 177–189
- May 2015
Self-knowledge through self-tracking devices: design guidelines for usability and a socio-technical examination from a posthumanity perspective
MA thesis · Sabancı University
Certificates
- Oct 2021
Front-end and back-end web development
Cevora, Obelisk, Multimedi
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, PHP, Angular, Laravel
- Sep 2020
LinkedIn Learning
Becoming a product manager, advanced Google Analytics, advanced SEO, data analytics, design sprints, interaction design flows, programming foundations
- Jan 2017
Interaction Design Foundation
Usability testing, user research methods, mobile UX, human-computer interaction, web design for usability, design thinking
Skills and languages
Tools
- UX and UI: Figma, Claude Design
- AI-assisted design and prototyping: Claude, code built with AI
- Graphic and brand: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
- Product and space: Rhinoceros, 3ds Max, V-Ray, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Arduino
Languages
- Turkish, native
- English, advanced (TOEFL iBT 106/120)
- Dutch, C1 (PCVO Moderne Talen, 2023); worked in Dutch-speaking teams 2017–2020
References available on request.