# Pelin Günay **Design Researcher & Educator** Public Space · Social Interaction · Research through Design ![[portrait.jpg]] ## Selected Work ### [[Doctoral Research]] Designing for social interaction in public space through the study of seating, encounters and designed mediators. ### [[Fuenturniture, Design of a Social Bench]] — Workshop Co-Tutor** _Meetings of Design Students (MEDS), Zaragoza | 2022_ Guided participants through the conceptualization and hands-on fabrication of a social bench, focusing on material constraints, spatial dynamics, and the role of street furniture in fostering community gathering ### [[Design Ethnography Undergraduate Course]] — Course content development and teaching support** _Özyeğin University, Department of Industrial Design_ | 2024 Took a leading role in developing the course content, weekly structure, and teaching materials. Contributed extensively to the design and delivery of the course, which also functioned as a research-connected setting within my doctoral work. ### [[Material Explorations]] Ongoing experiments with photography, clay, traces and material processes ## Research Interests My current interests centre on how designed objects and spatial conditions shape encounters in public space, particularly through: - social interaction and co-presence - public space and everyday encounters - designed mediators and material interventions - traces, temporality and asynchronous interaction ## About I am a design researcher and educator based in Istanbul. FolIowing my Industrial Design degree at Brunel University, London; I recently completed my PhD in Design, Technology and Society at Özyeğin University, Istanbul. ## Contact For research collaborations, visiting research opportunities, workshops or projects please contact: Email: [email protected] · LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/pelingunay](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pelingunay/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BHeFFe5mxQvaR%2F6SfPGoLfg%3D%3D) · [[PelinGunay_CV.pdf|Pelin Gunay CV]]