
Biography
Deniz Ural is an award-winning designer, researcher, and speaker dedicated to creating innovative, responsive, and holistic experiences that help people heal. Growing up as a dancer, she developed a deep understanding of movement and presence, which later influenced her first tech project—choreographing a robot dance for a children’s exhibition. She studied industrial design and spent five years in the design industry in various roles, including foresight designer for the future of spatial computing, UX/UI designer, and freelancer. Now pursuing a master’s at SIAT, SFU, she researches technologically mediated and sensory experiences that foster healing and deeper human connection.
Projects
Sensorium
This mixed-methods study investigates how real versus sham visual biofeedback influences subjective and physiological relaxation, self-connection, body awareness, flow, and self-transcendence within Sensorium 1.5 — an individual, immersive installation combining body-scan meditation, ambient sound, and HRV-responsive LED lighting. Fifty participants will experience both real and sham feedback in...
BRieFLY - A meditative VR experience
Breathe, connect, and watch fireflies respond to your touch and breath BRieFLY is an exploratory VR prototype combining mindful breathing with playful interaction. This 6-minute meditative experience immerses users in a mixed reality environment where shimmering fireflies dynamically respond to their movements, as illustrated in the video below. The session begins with a 3-minute narrated b...