Biography
Hande is a Ph.D. student in Design Studies. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bilkent University, Turkey, from the Interior Architecture and Environmental Design department. Her research interests include the relationship between the environment and behavior. Hande’s master’s thesis was about place attachment and territoriality in design studios. She has presented her works at the EDRA and the International Conference of Environmental Psychology, at which she was awarded the “Best Presentation Award” by the Program Committee of ICEP.
Hande’s main goal is to combine design principles and research to create better built environments and experiences for people. Her teaching and professional experiences taught her about the ways in which humans are affected by their surroundings in different ways. She has been a TA for technical drawing, lighting, and color application courses and taught design studio at the University of Minnesota. She has also worked on different types and sizes of projects. Her experiences and vision for design and application led her to work on restorative workplaces for her dissertation and she hopes to go beyond that in the future.
Education and Relevant Experience
BS, Interior Design and Environmental Design, Bilkent University
MS, Interior Design and Environmental Design, Bilkent University
Awards and Recognitions
“Best Presentation Award” – ICEP
Selected Publications
The Impact of Controlled Access to Design Studios on Place Attachment | EDRA 50 (May 2019)
Understanding How to Increase Restorativeness of Interiors | ICEP (May 2020)
Teaching Experience
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
IDes 1601-Interior Design Studio I
IDes 4608-Interior Design
CDes 1312-Color and Design in Two and Three Dimensions
IDes 2262-Computer Applications
BILKENT UNIVERSITY
ADA 131-Architectural Drawing
IAED 397-Color Theory and Applications
IAED 244-Lighting Design

Department
- Design Studies
Degree Program
- PhD Human Ecology: Design Studies
Contact
Email: hdeniz@wisc.edu