A move towards meaning

Ayse Birsel sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast.

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“Design tools are really all about tricking our minds for our own good.” Ayse Birsel

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Their conversation explores how we can apply the design principles commonly used for organizations and communities to help us navigate the complexities of our own lives. Ayse shares her four-part framework (Deconstruction, Point of View, Reconstruction and Expression) which helps us externalize our thinking the see our lives more clearly. By making the invisible visible, we can reconnect with our values, identify what truly matters and break old assumptions so we can move from the real to the ideal. The episode weaves through stories from healthcare co-design, corporate leadership workshops and personal life design, revealing common threads of iteration, collaboration, intentional decision-making and the importance of reframing our biases. Together they reflect on motivations, barriers, the optimism embedded in design practice and the emerging opportunities—and anxieties—of designing with AI.

Ayse Birsel is a Turkish-American industrial designer, author, and systems thinker whose work spans products, organizations, and life design. Trained at Middle East Technical University in Turkey and as a Fulbright scholar at Pratt Institute, she co-founded the award-winning studio Birsel + Seck, working on everything from Herman Miller office systems to consumer goods and strategy engagements for Amazon, GE, IKEA, Toyota, and more. Ayse’s signature process—Deconstruction:Reconstruction—is the guiding thread through her design practice and her philosophy of life. She distilled this framework into her best-selling book Design the Life You Love, where she teaches people how to externalize their thoughts, reconnect with their values, and rebuild their lives intentionally. Through workshops, writing, and speaking, Ayşe empowers individuals to treat their lives as meaningful design projects, moving from what is to what could be.

Ayse recorded this episode during her week on campus leading student workshops as part of the Ohio State DESIGN Megert Speaker Series.

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You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

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