DESIGN EXPERIENCE

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Burcu Koleli Design

Owner & Designer, 2021 - present

Independent design and illustration practice creating visual identities and campaign assets for global brands, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations. Clients include Starbucks, FineActs, MassNow, Womxn Project, Nike, TEDx Countdown, Wizz Air, Intersectional Environmentalist, Seattle Chocolate Factory, and AFL-CIO.

We Need to Talk, Istanbul, TR

Creative Director, 2020 - 2025

Led creative strategy and visual identity for Türkiye’s only menstrual justice organization. Designed campaigns and educational materials reaching 40M+.

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The Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab at RISD, Providence, RI

Communication Designer, 2025 - 2026

Produced visual and digital assets for communications across web, social media, and newsletters, supporting programs, workshops, and exhibitions.

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United Nations Women, New York, NY

Designer, 2022 - 2023

Led branding and visual asset development for the YouthDemand campaign, ensuring consistency across digital and communication materials. Designed the main visual for International Women’s Day 2022 and produced campaign assets for gender equality initiatives across social, publications, and reports.

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Girl Rising, New York, NY

Lead Designer, 2021 - 2023

Led visual design for education and social justice campaigns, producing illustrations, toolkits, and digital assets across social media, reports, and presentations. Produced and edited video content for social media and YouTube supporting climate storytelling and girls’ education initiatives.

Pixery Lab, Istanbul, Turkiye
Designer, 2019 - 2020

Led visual and UI design for mobile apps including Funimate, designing layouts, customizable templates, graphics, and user-facing visual assets.

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Elle Turkiye, Istanbul, Turkiye
Designer, 2018 - 2019

Designed layouts and visual content for ELLE Digital, supporting editorial and fashion-focused digital publications.

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TEACHING EXPERIENCE

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Rhode Island School of Design, Illustration Department,
Teacher, Meeting Nature, Studio and Seminar Course, - 2026

Rhode Island School of Design, Illustration Department,
Teaching Assistant, Design for Illustrators, Studio Course, - 2025

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Rhode Island School of Design, Illustration Department,
Teacher, Typography for Storytellers, Workshop, - 2024

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WORKSHOPS AND TALKS

 

Storytelling and Menstruation, Boston, MA

Workshop, 2025

Workshop was focused on addressing menstrual stigma and gender justice in Mass Now’s Menstrual Summit, where participants reflected on their personal experiences and created artworks using drawing and mixed-media practices. The resulting stories and artworks were later mobilized as advocacy tools in support of key legislative bills.

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Typography for Storytellers, Providence, RI

Workshop, 2025

Taught typography as an expressive and narrative tool within illustration and storytelling contexts. Guided students in experimenting with type, hierarchy, and composition to strengthen narrative clarity.

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Menstruation & Media, Istanbul, TR

Seminar, 2024

Delivered a public talk analyzing how menstruation is represented in media and popular culture. Addressing the role of art, design, and communication in dismantling stigma and reshaping public narratives.

 

Radical Imagination & Design, Providence, RI

Workshop, 2024

Taught radical imagination as a design methodology for envisioning alternative futures and
socially engaged practices for aspiring artists and designers.

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Storytelling & Women’s Health, CSW Event, NYC, NY

Panel Lead, 2023

Moderated and led an international panel on the role of storytelling in advancing women’s health advocacy in the Middle East and North Africa.

Facilitated cross-sector dialogue between artists, activists, and policymakers on narrative as
a tool for social change.

 

Community and Identity, MapleWoods Middle School, MapleWoods, WA

Workshop, 2023

Led a two-week identity and community workshop with elementary and middle school students, exploring what defines community and how individuals relate to it.

Guided students through drawing and discussion exercises where they illustrated their own communities and shared their reflections.

Designed a collaborative mural incorporating elements from students’ drawings and co-painted the mural with participants, which was permanently installed on the exterior wall of their school.

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Nature and Mindfulness, Paloma, Tacoma, WA

Workshop, 2023

Moderated and led an international panel on the role of storytelling in advancing women’s health advocacy.

Facilitated cross-sector dialogue between artists, activists, and policymakers on narrative
as a tool for social change.