Designing products, and the teams behind them, since 2011.

Now in Munich. Before that Istanbul, with a detour through Delft.

The short story

I trained as an industrial designer at METU and studied Design for Interaction at TU Delft. I started in UX at Turkcell, moved into banking and fintech, and spent six years with Pegasus Airlines on its self-service kiosks.

In 2020 I founded Appcent Design and grew it into a team of 10+ designers and researchers, running the business as much as the craft: clients, P&L and resourcing. Today I live in Munich and lead product and design at bookingkit.

I work in English, Turkish, French and German.

What I own on a project

The client. I am the main contact. I set expectations, present decisions and keep the business goals in view.

The direction. I frame the problem and lead the workshops that get stakeholders and the team to one shared picture.

The team. I build it, coach it and clear the way. The work is theirs as much as mine, which is why every case study names who was on it.

Experience

2026 – now
Product and Design Lead, bookingkitConversational AI for checkout; design operations automation.
2020 – 2026
Founder and Head of Product Design, Appcent DesignBuilt a team of 10+; led 20+ client projects.
2024 – 2025
Lead UX Consultant, PreziUX vision for AI-driven presentation tools.
2018 – 2024
Lead Product Design Consultant, Pegasus AirlinesConsultant from 2018, then with my Appcent team.
2015 – 2018
Senior UX Researcher and Product Designer, BBVASME banking research and prototypes.
2014 – 2015
Senior UX Designer, CommencisFinance apps for Visa and İş Bank.
2011 – 2014
UX Designer, TurkcellCall center systems and HR tools.

Beyond my own teams

Deniz speaking at a university event — **Talks**On trending design topics in the global tech scene.

Deniz with Service Design students at METU — **Teaching**Service Design lecturer at METU, 2021 to 2023, sponsoring graduation projects.

Persona and storyboard sketches from a training — **Trainings**Design culture sessions that brought a user-first view to client IT teams.

DesignathonOrganized Turkey’s first Designathon, online, two years in a row with non-profit partners.

Education

MSc Design for Interaction, Delft University of Technology
BSc Industrial Design, Middle East Technical University

Recent study: Design Patterns for AI Interfaces (PUSH, 2025) · UX Management and Agile Methods for UX Design (Interaction Design Foundation, 2025)