Systems-oriented design for circular and societal transitions
I am a systems-oriented design researcher and Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at Istanbul University. My work focuses on circular economy, repair and product-life extension, user behaviour, systems thinking, and sustainability transitions.
I am particularly interested in how designers can understand complex systems, identify strategic intervention points, and translate circular-economy principles into products, services, tools, and organisational practices. My research combines qualitative and mixed methods, stakeholder and system mapping, design workshops, and the development of frameworks that connect research with design practice.
My current work focuses on circular product design and repair, circular design competencies, industry transition, and systems-oriented approaches to strategic intervention. I am also developing a new research direction on how AI can support the exploration, representation, and design of interventions in complex systems.
Research · Publications · Teaching · CV
Research themes
Circular product design & repair
I study how repair, upgrade, reuse, and user participation can extend product lifetimes and support circular-economy transitions. My work on facilitated do-it-yourself repair examines repair as a value co-creation process between users and companies.
Systems-oriented design & transitions
I investigate how designers can represent and intervene in complex industrial and societal systems. Current work includes stakeholder relationships, circular business ecosystems, industry transition, and the use of mapping to identify opportunities for strategic intervention.
Circular design competencies & education
I explore the knowledge and competencies designers need to work effectively with circularity. This research connects systems thinking, recovery strategies, materials and manufacturing, and business-ecosystem engagement with design education and studio practice.
AI-augmented systems design
An emerging strand of my research examines how AI may support designers in exploring complex systems, identifying patterns and leverage points, generating intervention alternatives, and evaluating possible consequences before implementation.
Selected research
Facilitated DIY Repair for Circular Economy
Research on repair behaviour and company–user collaboration, resulting in a conceptual model of repair as a value co-creation process.
Selected publication:
Bayraktaroğlu, S. & İdemen, E. (2024). Redefining Repair as a Value Co-Creation Process for Circular Economy: Facilitated Do-It-Yourself Repair. International Journal of Design, 18(1), 1–22.
Circular Design Competencies
An interdisciplinary study of how undergraduate designers develop circular-design competencies through systems thinking, design strategies, and engagement with industry.
Selected publication:
Bayraktaroğlu, S. & Soylu, Y. (2026). Exploring circular design competencies in undergraduate education: the case of an interdisciplinary course and industry engagement. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 27(7), 1829–1845. DOI
Circular Transition in the Furniture Industry
Ongoing research into circular-economy awareness, barriers, motivations, and transition strategies in the furniture sector, combining manufacturer surveys, interviews, thematic analysis, and design workshops.
ENCODUS
Coordinator of ENCODUS – Excellence in Eco-Social Design for Urban Sustainability Transition, a Horizon Europe WIDERA Twinning proposal developed with international academic partners including HSLU, the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. The proposal was evaluated above threshold but was not funded.
Background
I hold a PhD in Industrial Product Design from Istanbul Technical University. My doctoral research investigated social innovation and business models in rural India. I completed a joint MSc in Industrial Design and Manufacturing at TU Dortmund and the University of Twente, including thesis research developed with Technical University of Munich and Audi AG.
Since 2010, I have taught and coordinated undergraduate and graduate courses in industrial design, sustainability, strategic design, design research, systems thinking, materials and manufacturing, and design for social innovation. At Istanbul University, I contributed to establishing the undergraduate Industrial Design programme, which admitted its first cohort in 2023.
My longer-term research aim is to contribute to the development of systemic design approaches for societal transitions, connecting circular economy, strategic intervention, and emerging AI-supported design methods.