Maide Akan
Emerging Experience Designer
Member Since
January 2026
I am a third-year BDes student in Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, focusing on publication and editorial design with a minor in Curatorial Practices. I’m drawn to experience design because it brings together how stories are structured on the page and how ideas are encountered in real space. Publication design teaches me to guide people through information, while curatorial practice pushes that thinking into context, movement, and public engagement. Together, they shape how I want to build my career designing experiences that people do not just see, but actively engage with.
Ask me about
How can being multilingual help me design experiences that communicate across cultures?
My super power is
My superpower is A.C.E. thinking: aesthetic intuition, clear structure, and expressive communication.
I'm looking for
I’m looking for a community to learn from, connect with, and better understand how experience design works in practice.
What I love about experience design
I love working across disciplines through multimedia, especially photography, painting, collage, and design. Art galleries, museums, and meaningful conversations continually shape how I think about creating experiences. Beyond design, I love baking and experimenting across cuisines, especially desserts like tiramisu. It’s another way I enjoy working with structure, timing, and creativity, and sharing something made by hand with others.
Best piece of advice I've ever heard
“It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow. You have to get bad in order to get good,” Paula Scher (The New Designer, edited by Manuel Lima, MIT, 2023, p. 8).
Where I find Inspiration
I’m inspired by aesthetics, inspiring spaces, and people who lead with passion.
Practice Area
Exhibition, Strategy/Research/Planning, Wayfinding
Focus Area
Equitable Design, Exhibition, Graphic, Interactive, Interpretive
Industry
Cultural, Education, Museums