Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melisa Cakiroglu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Melisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is Healthy Mind Map, a mental health support app designed to help people build healthier habits and stay connected with both the people who care about them and the professionals supporting them. Founder/CEO Michael Batt led the project with Senior Product Manager Kyle Charlesworth. When they brought me on as the designer, I could instantly tell this wasn’t just another wellness app. It had a heart.

From the beginning, the goal was to create something that felt gentle, intuitive, and human. A space where users could track how they’re doing emotionally, build small daily habits, and feel supported without being overwhelmed. That balance between structure and softness became my design north star.

What made this project really special for me was the way it treated mental health as something shared, not just internal. Users can invite a close friend and a healthcare provider to follow their progress, which I found really powerful. Providers can view daily activity logs alongside assessment responses and even take notes, so they have a fuller picture of the person they’re supporting. It turns the app into more than a tracker. It becomes part of an ongoing, real-life care system.

Designing Healthy Mind Map reminded me why I do what I do. It wasn’t just about clean screens or smooth flows, although we cared about those too. It was about creating something that people might reach for on a hard day and feel a little less alone when they do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Design has always been a part of my life. I grew up surrounded by creativity because my mother is a designer too, and our home was always filled with sketchbooks, color swatches, material samples, and in-progress projects spread out across tables. From a young age, I was naturally curious about how things were built, how they felt, and how they could be improved. I learned to see the world through form, color, and function.

I started my journey with a bachelor’s degree in interior design, and while I enjoyed designing physical spaces, I found myself increasingly drawn to technology and the endless possibilities it offered. That curiosity led me to pursue a master’s degree in UX/UI Design at Thomas Jefferson University. It was a big turning point for me. I realized how powerful design could be when paired with technology. It could go beyond aesthetics and become a way to solve real problems, connect people, and create more inclusive and meaningful experiences. What excited me most was that the possibilities felt limitless. Every project brought new challenges, new stories, and new people to learn from.

Today I work as a full-cycle product designer. I help turn early ideas into fully thought-out digital products. That includes everything from defining the brand to user experience and interface design, and building interactive prototypes. I’m deeply involved in each step, and I love collaborating with founders who are passionate about what they do.

Empathy is at the heart of my work. I never treat a project as just a task. I take time to understand the people behind the product, what they care about, and why it matters. I try to level up their vision, not just in terms of how the product looks or works, but how it feels to use. Every decision I make is about finding that balance between functionality and emotion.

What sets me apart is how personally I take the process. I see product design as a form of storytelling. I want each product I work on to be more than just usable. I want it to feel honest, human, and aligned with the purpose behind it. Whether it’s a mental health platform or a loyalty app, my goal is always to create something that people can connect with.

What I’m most proud of is the trust I’ve built with my clients. Many of them return for future projects or refer others to me because they know I will treat their idea with care and commitment. That trust means everything to me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

At the core of my creative journey is a simple but powerful mission: to help people and make things easier for everyone. That’s what drives me every day, and it’s what led me to UX design in the first place. I’ve always been drawn to understanding people, their needs, frustrations, habits, and hopes, and using design to create experiences that genuinely support and uplift them.

That’s also why I feel especially connected to health-related projects. When you’re working on something that impacts someone’s well-being, it goes beyond just screens and flows. You’re designing for moments that matter. Whether it’s reducing anxiety through a smoother onboarding, helping someone build healthier habits, or making it easier for a provider to support their patient, every small decision can have a big emotional impact.

Designing for health has taught me how important empathy, clarity, and emotional intelligence are in the creative process. It’s not about flashy visuals or trendy layouts. It’s about meeting people where they are, understanding what they need, and making their day just a little bit easier or more hopeful.

That’s the kind of work I always want to be part of. Work that cares, that listens, and that makes a real difference in people’s lives.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots in my life was transitioning from interior architecture to UX/UI design. For a long time, I thought my path was going to be entirely in the world of physical spaces. I studied interior design and genuinely loved it. Understanding how people move through space, how light, materials, and form affect their mood and behavior was deeply fulfilling. During my studies, I also completed an interior design internship in Chiba, Japan, which gave me firsthand experience in applying those principles across cultural and spatial contexts. It was a creative and human-centered discipline, and it taught me how to think in systems and emotions at the same time.

But over time, I found myself increasingly curious about the digital world. I was fascinated by how fast technology was evolving and how it was changing the way we interact with everything from healthcare and education to daily routines. I wanted to be part of that shift.

That curiosity deepened when I had the chance to do an exchange semester in Lisbon, Portugal, where I studied communication design at IADE. It opened my eyes to new forms of storytelling, visual language, and problem-solving that weren’t tied to physical structures. It helped bridge the gap between my architectural background and the digital world I was being pulled toward.

Eventually, I decided to fully commit to this pivot and pursue a master’s degree in UX/UI design. It felt like a natural extension of what I already loved. Solving problems for people in meaningful, functional, and emotional ways. While I still have a deep appreciation for interior architecture, I realized that technology offered a kind of creative freedom and continuous evolution that I couldn’t resist.

Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. My foundation in spatial design still shapes the way I approach digital products. I think about flow, atmosphere, emotion, and structure, now through the lens of user journeys and digital touchpoints. The pivot wasn’t a departure. It was an expansion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melisacakiroglu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melcakiroglu/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-cakiroglu/