Submissions for IDA 2024 are now closed. Finalize your entries by December 8, 2024.
Basak Altan is a Principal Design Strategist with a passion for sustainable design, social impact, and life-centered design. She helps organizations reimagine their future through design, leveraging her expertise in design thinking to connect clients’ human stories with technology, the environment, and future business models. With over 20 years of experience, Basak provides leadership at the intersection of business, technology, and education, fostering sustainable innovation through customized methodologies and systems thinking.
Currently focused on healthcare innovation, Basak previously led her own consultancy, collaborating with industry leaders like Microsoft and Amazon to uncover and validate transformative innovations. As Design Director she led a global team of product designers, driving creative direction, innovation, and manufacturing for international clients.
Beyond her industry roles, Basak has taught design research and social impact studios at the California College of the Arts and curated the Design Voices Program for IDSA, shaping national conversations on design. She also leads philanthropic initiatives, using design for social good and integrating sustainability into community building through The Bay Area Turkish Society, a nonprofit she co-founded.
Basak holds a Master of Sustainable Business Administration from Presidio Graduate School and a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Syracuse University. Her work has been published in Innovation, Metropolis, Van Alen Report, Surface Magazine, The New York Times, and Open Architecture Network. She has served as a juror for the International Design Awards and the Jacobs Institute at UC Berkeley, chaired the IDSA San Francisco Chapter, and earned recognition as an Outstanding Chair/Chapter by IDSA. Connect with her via LinkedIn, or through www.basakaltan.com.
