Couple of months ago David Butler, Vice President, Design at Coca-Cola Company, visited to McCann Erickson Istanbul. And i was asked to make a presentation about Turkish creative area. And i prepared this presentation, included traditional Turkish art to modern style.

2. We wanted to share how Turkish artists “design for
better”...

4. Painting in Turkey, has remained as a limited art form consisting of abstract
patterns, marbling, miniature and calligraphy due to the influence of the religion.
After 1870’s Turkish painting started to gain some momentum with Osman Hamdi
and his successors establishing the basis for modern painting. With the founding of
the Fine Arts Academy, training and education gained importance in the area.
Thanks to painters coming from Europe to İstanbul for exhibits held at Dolmabahçe
Palace, Turkish painters were introduced to western art and oil painting.
During 1880’s modern painting was slowly shaping under the influences of
tonalism or symbolism and it focused on ordinary people, psychology and daily
routines. The reflections of western painting trends were also seen among Turkish
painters. Impressionism’s effects can be seen in Turkish paintings of the period in
terms of color, form and composition.
After this period, came a period of westernization, in which traditional touches were
slowly transformed into modern shapes. Several artist groups created art works
that shaped the period.
Abstract painting styles gained importance after 1950’s while the most important
period in terms of modern painting were 1960-70. This is when Turkish artists were
finally able to exhibit their works in western galleries and museums.

5. HAFRİYAT KARAKÖY
Hafriyat Karaköy, was shaped as an independent venue by Hafriyat artists coming
together to form an alternative space. Hafriyat Karaköy is a place that is open to the
local sensibilities, who want to experience the freedom limits of the Turkish art
scene, also subgroups, civils with politics sensibilites and any structures outside the
domination of the who wants to cultural industry.
Hafriyat Karaköy is a non profit art space where artists gather and projects are being
made as a result of shared art and cultural experiences. Aside from the group and
individual exhibitions, it makes collective exhibitions and opens its’ space to group
events, artists and groups abroad. The exhibitons are open to all kinds of disciplines
and curatorial studies.

10. BURHAN DOĞANÇAY
Primarily known for a body of work that grew out of his fascination with urban walls;
they have a special meaning to him and it is that observation that he transformed
into art. Walls serve as a testament to the passage of time, reflecting social, political
and economic change. They also bear witness to the assault of the elements and to
the markings left by people. No other artist has explored urban walls as thoroughly
and with the same passion Dogançay has. His persistent occupation with and
translation of urban walls into art is what earned him a reputation as “father of wall
art”.
The opening in 2004 of the Dogançay Museum, Turkey’s first contemporary art
museum, constituted the crowning of Dogançay’s career. He lives and works in New
York where he has maintained a studio for the past 40 years.

15. ÖZDEMiR ALTAN
Graduated from Mimar Sinan University, Fine Arts Department in 1956 and started
his academic career in the same university. As one of the most important names in
contemporary Turkish painting, Özdemir Altan has become a pioneer with his work
that was exhibited internationally in both personal and mixed exhibits and mainly in
the Paris Bienal. He is the first artist who brought contemporary thought and avant-
garde and pop art movements to Turkey and influenced many other artists.

21. STREET ART
Street art has gained importance in Turkey mainly in the 90’s with hip-hop lifestyle getting
more and more popular. This continued until the 2000’s and examples of stencils, graffiti,
sticker art and poster art started to be seen on the streets, bars, thrash cans etc. These
artists are expressing themselves in a protest manner especially in Istanbul’s
neighborhoods.
Various festivals and workshops are held. Meeting of Allstars (MOAS) Graffiti Fest, will
be held for the 3 time in 2009 to gather international artist in historic sights.

35. TURKISH GRAPHIC DESIGN
Contemporary Turkish Graphic Art was born with the influence of the Ottoman culture. It
reached its current form with the modernization and westernization efforts.
The transformations in Turkish political and societal history were also another influence that
shaped the Turkish Graphic Art.

36. EVOLUTION IN TURKISH GRAPHIC DESIGN
13th c. - 19th c. 19th c. – 20th c. 20th c. – 21th c.
TRADITIONAL MODERN POST MODERN
(ORIGINS) (DEVELOPMENT) (EVOLUTION)
opening of the first publishing Foundation of Turkish Republic Burst in free market economy
houses
(in the last decades of Ottoman
Empire) Foreign investment
CONCEPTUAL
GRAPHIC DESIGN
ISLAMIC ARTS Liberal economy
Minimalism
Calligraphy
Miniature
MODERNIZATION Typography
Marbling
Computer
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Technologies
Consumer
Goods
Publications
TVC

37. EVOLUTION IN TURKISH GRAPHIC DESIGN
19th c. - 20th c.
MODERN
(DEVELOPMENT)
Foundation of Turkish Republic
MODERNIZATION
1927 1928
Law for the Alphabet
Encouragement of
Revolution
Industry
CONSUMER GOODS PUBLICATIONS
Labels Newspaper
Packages Magazines
Ads Books
Posters
foreign experts Publishing in Latin
to work in Turkey letters
- Renown names from the West were invited, - A national identity is created
- Invaluable scientists and artists settled in Turkey - State sent many students abroad to attain education in
(escaping from the terror of the Nazi regime) all areas
western style spread of mass
disciplines in art communication

38. EVOLUTION IN TURKISH GRAPHIC DESIGN
19th c. - 20th c.
MODERN
(DEVELOPMENT)
1950
Turkey opened to foreign investment
Communication with the West increased
Designers are informed better Increased number of advertising agencies
of the developments in the world led to higher demand for graphic design
1960 Liberal economic structure:
national income & planned industrialization became an objective
- Offset print is used
- Publishing houses are founded
Diversification in production Increase in consumption
MARKETING
Demand for publicizing
Making graphic design
1972 TVCs started to get aired in between programs

40. iHAP HULUSi GÖREY
İhap Hulusi Görey, who had completed three years of studio work at Heiman Schille and
two years of education at Munich Kunstgewerbe Schule, became the first designer
producing works of Turkish graphic design.
The posters for state enterprises in 1920s and 30s, labels and logos for the Tobacco and
Alcoholic Products Administration and ticket designs for National Lottery Administration
prepared by this artist in the independent studio he had from 1927 to 1981, have become
the signs and icons of the ideology and the social life model of the early Republican era.
As was being done in Soviet Russia, he produced posters which, as effective
communication means, served the propaganda purpose of motiyating the society in line
with new principles.

47. BÜLENT ERKMEN
Erkmen’s distinction from all the other designers of the period has been his recognition of
the plurality of post modernism, the richness brought about by that plurality and the
designer’s freedom to say his own word by carrying this richness to his work without
excluding the unrelinquishable rules of the design discipline. While postmodernism ignored
modernism’s principle of solving design problems in the name of communication,
Bülent Erkmen claimed this problem as his own and opposed uncontrolled language
plurality in the name of postmodernism’s principle of plurality. As a designer who
perceived the dilemmas inherent to postmodernism and went beyond them, Erkmen
brought together the singularity of controlled language and the plurality of the message.
The necessity for control has brought Erkmen to evolve into a stage where he insulated
his work from any needless element. The deconstructivist approach seen in Erkmen’s
most recent work, does not capture the question as a “readymade answer,” rather, the
question determines the deconstructivist solution.
Bülent Erkmen can be seen as a milestone for turning graphic design in to an industrial
profession.

56. ÖRGÜT ÇAYLI
His design perspective was reformed following the advances in technology. He
incorporated the international design trends into his own style and reshaped his voice
accordingly towards the end of 2000’s.
Caylı who is also an art director, has a style that can be differentiated among others
although his forms, typography and compositions can sometimes be seen a bit over-the-
top. The graphic design software that are constantly advancing when combined with the
designer’s limitless imagination, allowed different styles based on traditional graphic
design to emerge..

65. ILLUSTRATION
With the print press on the rise, newspapers and magazines were in more need of visuality
and that created the need for illustrations. The Turkish painters who weren’t earning
enough money in the time, shifted to this new field.
Illustration has gone through massive changes and improvements since the beginning of
1900’s thanks to the western styles’ influence on the local illustrators and of course thanks
to the advances in the technology.
This period marked the beginning of stylization whereas more realistic artwork was
common in the past.

74. MOTION GRAPHICS
Motion graphics are graphics that use video and/or animation technology to create
the illusion of motion or a transforming appearance. These motion graphics are
usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are
usually displayed via electronic media technology, but may be displayed via manual
powered technology (e.g thaumatrope, phenakistoscope, stroboscope, zoetrope,
praxinoscope, flip book) as well. The term is useful for distinguishing still graphics
from graphics with a transforming appearance over time without over-specifying the
form.

78. INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
This department was first founded in 1971 at Mimar Sinan University, which set an
example to other universities.
Towards the late 90’s, industrial design in Turkey has become a complete working field.
Although the modern industrialization movement intensified since the beginning of 1960’s,
and the professional training in the field was offered in early 1970’s, it is not possible to
talk about industrial design until late 1980’s.

79. TAMER NAKIŞÇI
As a young industrial designer of 26 years, Tamer Nakışcı, gained popularity with his work
for Nokia and Fiat. After getting the attention of Fiat with his automobile sketches, he went
to Milan and became one of the few designers to catch the opportunity for an internship.
Nakışcı who was awarded internationally for his work for Nokia, is the only Turkish
Designer among Europe’s top 100 youngest talents.

81. MERİÇ KARA
Born in 1977, Meric Kara finished her master’s degree in Milan. Her work was exhibited in
Amsterdam Inside Design and Milan Furniture Fair. She is working at Fabrica Design
department since 2 years and designes stores for Benetton and Sisley.

83. SADi TEKiN
He is an Istanbul based industrial designer and illustrator, who is born in1976. He won
some awards; in and outside the country, attend some workshops and showed some of
his works at Street Design Week ’06-09 and Istanbul Design Week ’06-09.

85. The only traditional medium at the beach is the ever-so-popular umbrella and we need a
smarter take on exposure. Now we have ultra-light and floaty seabeds by Coca Cola Light.
Thousands will see them all along the shore, tell each other about them, forward the design
through the net.

90. HAKAN GÜRSU
He took his masters degree from Department of Architecture in 1988. Gursu continued his
project studies at Japan in 1991 and completed his Ph.D studies in 1996. he worked as
consultant on interior architecture and city planning in Moscow and Tokyo.
Dr. Gursu was was the recipient of the worlds most prestigious design award, the
International Design Award (IDA) 2007, for his creation Volitan, in the category of best
nautical vessel and best transportation vehicle of the year.

99. Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by
people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was
inhabited by culturally Islamic populations. It includes fields as varied as
architecture, calligraphy, painting, and ceramics, among others.

101. CALLIGRAPHY
Calligraphic design is omnipresent in Islamic art, and is usually expressed in a mix of
Qur'anic verses and historical proclamations. Two of the main scripts involved are the
symbolic kufic and naskh scripts, which can be found adorning and enhancing the visual
appeal of the walls and domes of buildings, the sides of minbars, and so on. Illuminated
scripts, coinage, and other minor art pieces such as ewers and incense holders are also
often decorated with calligraphy.

111. MINIATURE
Ottoman Miniature was an art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the
Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences. It was a part of
the Ottoman Book Arts together with illumination (tezhip), calligraphy (hat), marbling paper
(ebru) and bookbinding (cilt). The words taswir or nakish were used to define this art in
Ottoman language. The studios they worked in was called Nakkashane. The miniatures
were not signed.

112. MINIATURE
Ottoman Miniature was an art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the
Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences. It was a part of
the Ottoman Book Arts together with illumination (tezhip), calligraphy (hat), marbling paper
(ebru) and bookbinding (cilt). The words taswir or nakish were used to define this art in
Ottoman language. The studios they worked in was called Nakkashane. The miniatures
were not signed.

122. PAPER MARBLING
Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns
similar to marble or other stone, hence the name.
In Turkey, the art is widely known as ebru today, and continues to be very popular. The
text of this manuscript was rendered in a delicate cut paper découpage calligraphy by
Mehmed bin Gazanfer and completed in 1540, and features many marbled and decorative
paper borders. Another famous 18th century master by the name of Hatip Mehmed Effendi
(d. 1773) is accredited with developing motif and perhaps early floral designs, although
evidence from India appears to contradict some of these claims.