Hi, I'm Zeynep!
Born and raised in İzmir, Turkey, I moved to the United States in 2009 after completing my master's in Florence, Italy.
I currently work at The Philadelphia Inquirer as a Lead Product Designer, where I get to lead impactful projects that enhance user experience and provide value to our readers. I believe in a free press and deeply care about making journalism accessible to everyone.
My design process relies on a clear understanding of business goals and user needs, exploring new ideas through sketching, wireframing, and prototyping, and validating assumptions early on with research.
I have been working at The Philadelphia Inquirer for over 10 years and have led the design of more than 20 large projects. These projects include creating and maintaining design systems, launching a mobile app, redesigning a live blog, and designing a mobile-optimized, accessible subscription checkout and online cancellation process, as well as some internal tools. My research work for the subscription checkout design won us the UserTesting Illumi Award in 2021.
I am also proud to be part of the 2023 cohort of the Online News Association Women’s Leadership Accelerator (#ONAWLA), where I received a year-long, extensive leadership training alongside 25 remarkable women leaders in journalism worldwide.
Outside of work, I enjoy drawing and painting, taking improv classes, learning Spanish, meditating, and teaching my cat, Ser Sebastian, new tricks. He is currently learning to jump through a hoop.
You can send me an email at gunbayz@gmail.com, connect with me on LinkedIn or book a mentoring session with me.