Sıla means “where one belongs, or home.” Ironically, Sıla moved around a lot as a kid and never felt like she belonged anywhere. Like fish in water, most people rarely notice the medium they live and breathe in, but being an outsider gave Sıla the perspective of a great observer: one that lets her spot the invisible doxas, question what others take for granted, and catch the nuances that go unnoticed by others.
While earning her business and entrepreneurship degrees at Sabancı University, a semester abroad at the National University of Singapore made her feel more alien than ever, exposing her to a rich mix of consumer cultures and widening her curiosity about the many different ways people think, want, and choose.
Throughout university, where she cycled through internship after internship looking for something that clicked, her titles changed — brand management, marketing operations, creative digital media, digital marketing — but her interest in human behavior remained the same. That search eventually led her to creative strategy, the career she had always wanted but never knew existed, where she realized she could get paid for simply being herself: curious, observant, and endlessly interested in why people behave the way they do.
She started her career at BLAB, where she first got down and dirty with in-person interviews to unlock human insights, crafted creative briefs that inspire, and most importantly witnessed firsthand the power of a great idea and the art of collaborative creativity. She then solidified her field experience with academics: a Creative Strategy diploma from Miami Ad School Europe. Her passion for communications has since earned her multiple Effie Awards across diverse industries, a judging seat at Curious Felis TR, and a 1st place ranking at Cannes Young Lions Turkey in the digital category. Sıla is now learning and growing at INNOCEAN Berlin, her current home, where everyone is an outsider.
