About

sonay Ardi Akkar

Service Design & Design Strategy Consultant


Years ago, as a curious and enthusiastic graduate of Industrial Design, I was introduced to the concept of service design during my Guest Research program at Linköping University. Fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, I was inspired by influential figures and realized that the design community needed to move beyond designing objects to creating holistic experiences. Since then, I have shared my excitement and insights through various educational programs, pursued further studies, and gathered professional experience as both an in-house designer and a consultant across diverse regions. This journey has shaped me into the designer I am today—passionate about thinking in systems, producing experience strategies, and innovating for impact and transformation.


Education:


  • Master of Arts in Service DesignLinköping University, Sweden 2010-2012
  • Guest Researcher in DesignLinköping University, Sweden 2007-2008
  • Master’s Degree in Industrial DesignTehran University of Art, Iran 2005-2008
  • Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design Tehran University of Art, Iran 2001-2005

  • Professional Membership:

  • Board Member, Service Design Network, Turkey Chapter. 2019-present
  • Chrysler Innovation Team. 2014-2018.

Skills:


Design Strategy & Experience Strategy: Aligning design strategies with business goals and user needs, and developing long-term user engagement strategies.
Experience Design & Service Design: Creating seamless multi-touchpoint experiences and designing user-centric services.
Stakeholder Management: Gathering requirements and managing expectations, ensuring alignment with clients and executives.
Business Acumen: Translating business objectives into design requirements and analyzing market trends to inform strategies.
Design Research: Conducting qualitative and quantitative research, and utilizing ethnographic methods for deep insights.
Innovation & Ideation: Leading workshops for breakthrough ideas and applying creativity tools for problem-solving.
Experience Prototyping & Testing: Building and refining user experience concept prototypes, and conducting value proposition tests to gather feedback.
Creative Hub Design & Community Design: Designing collaborative creative spaces and building and nurturing innovation communities.
Facilitation:Leading meetings and workshops to drive consensus and ideation, and guiding teams through complex problem-solving.
Project Leadership: Managing cross-functional teams and project deliverables, ensuring projects are on time and aligned with goals.
Team Coaching: Mentoring team members to develop skills, and fostering a thriving talent community.
Strategic Narration: Crafting narratives to communicate design concepts and using visual storytelling to engage stakeholders.

Languages:

English
Turkish
Azerbaijani
Persian
Swedish
Arabic

Experience


Experience


  • Head of Service Design at ATÖLYE, Istanbul | Dubai, Jan. 2022 - May 2024
  • Sr. Lead Service Design & Design Strategy at ATÖLYE, Istanbul | Dubai, Feb. 2021-May 2024
  • Head of Service Design at Dogma Alares, Istanbul, Nov. 2019 - Jan. 2021
  • Customer Experience Designer at Tofaş (Fiat-Chrysler Group Turkey), Istanbul, Nov. 2013 - Nov. 2019
  • Part-time lecturer of Service Design at Özyeğin University, Istanbul, 2017-Present
  • Part-time lecturer of Service Design at Bilgi University, Istanbul, 2024-Present
  • Co-founder at IDReporter, Tehran, 2012- Present

Projects & Roles:


ATÖLYE

  • Expo Academy Dubai (Expo City Dubai’s Academy) Strategy and Learning Experience Design (2024, UAE)Designing a transformative educational institution, building on the rich legacy and expertise of Expo 2020 and Expo City Dubai's dedication to excellence in mega and large-scale events, as well as human-centeric city development.(2024, UAE)
    Role: Project Lead*
  • FabriKHAS: An EU-funded project to establish a Creative Platform for the Screen Industry at Kadir Has University.(2024, Turkey)
    Role: Project Director and Advisory** Board Member
  • INSPIRE PROJECT TÜRKİYE:An EU-funded project for Capability Building in Creative Economy in Turkey.(2024, Turkey)
    Role: Project Director
  • Healthy Aging Innovation Hub for a well-known holding Designing an Innovation Hub to cultivate a community of innovators to develop products and services.(2023, Turkey)
    Role: Project Directo
  • UAE Union Day 52 Guest Experience Strategy: interweave UAE’s 52nd Union Day initiatives to create a compelling guest experience that celebrates people’s achievements and empowers them to further contribute to UAE’s sustainability efforts.(2023, UAE)
    Role: Project Lea1
  • COP28 Guest Experience StrategyStrategic direction for the guest experience in COP28 including 11 different personas and defining the overall guest journey and signature moments. (2023, UAE)
    Role: Project Lead (partnered with SYPartners)
  • COP28 Guest Digital Experience Strategy (2023, UAE)
    Role: Project Lead (partnered with SYPartners)
  • Pioneers of Change Program for Abdi İbrahim (Pharmacy Company): Empowering employees to drive innovation (2022, Turkey)
    Role: Project Lead, Bootcamp Facilitator, and Instructor
  • Experience Strategy for Togg (First Turkish Electrical Vehicle): Envisioning User Experience in 9 different fields for future users (2021, Turkey)
    Role: Project Lead

Dogma Alares:

  • Increasing Efficiency by Improving Contact Center Agent Experience and Tools, KARACA: Mapping the user journey leading to the contact center to identify areas for improvement and reduce the users’ need for contact center support, while also designing a dashboard to optimize the digital tools used by agents.( (2020, Turkey)
    Role:     Project Lead

*Managed the team and guided project content to achieve desired outcomes based on client expectations and needs.
** Directed the project strategy and managed the relationship with the client leadership





Tofaş:

  • Mapping Customer Journey Maps for Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Maserati, and Ferrari in Turkey:Understanding current experiences and enhancing them to create future directions.(2013-2019, Turkey)
    Role: Initiative Direction as the First Experience Designer in the Organization
  • Researching and Defining Future Customer Expectations for Connected Cars. (2017-2019)
    Role: Conducted Human-centered Design Approach and collaborated with R&D and IT teams to develop the "Fiat Yol Arkadaşım Connect" application.

Digital Tools:

  • Online shared boards for facilitation (Miro, Mural, FigJam)
  • Documentation Tools(Google doc. Google sheets, Microsoft Word,Excel)
  • Presentation Tools(Keynote Google Slides, Powerpoint, Figma Presentation)
  • Design Tools(Figma, Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator

Specific Experience in the Region:

  • Turkey: 2013-present
  • UAE: 2021-present
  • Sweden: 2007-2012

Contact

Contact Me

Social Profiles

Email Me

contact@sonayardi.com

Call Me

+90 542 594 40 03

Experiences:Designed by Ali Ardi