HELLO!

I’m Ayse (pronounced Eye-Shay) Birsel. 

I am a designer and innovator who has designed hundreds of award-winning products and systems for Fortune 500 brands. You’ve probably sat in one of my office systems for Herman Miller; peeled potatoes with my peeler for Target; or used my toilet for TOTO. Designing products with leading brands taught me how effective design principles are in solving complex problems. I have applied these principles to life to help thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds to transform their lives through my workshops and book, "Design the Life You Love.” There I learned of the extraordinary creativity of ordinary people. This inspired me to include them in my design studio's design thinking process. Our co-design work has helped our clients, from Toyota to GE, to get close to their customers and learn more about topics such as laundry; mobility systems; and aging. 

Today, I give talks, lead workshops, and teach masterclasses at companies to help leaders and their teams to think like a designer and Design the Organization You Love, using my 5 foundational principles—optimism, empathy, holistic thinking, collaboration and an open mind. 

Designer; Keynote Speaker; Author; School of Visual Arts Faculty; INC Contributor; Birsel + Seck Co-founder; MG100 Coach; Fast Company Most Creative Person.