Interviews with Kenarköse Creative
Designer profileDesign Interview
4 May 2020 · ODTU Sanat 20 Visual Identity Design
The design idea came from the institution’s special request to highlight the consequent 20 years of the art festival. Therefore, the twentieth year of the art festival was seen as a covered art piece to be unveiled. Our design strategy was to achieve a subtle but compelling visual identity system that would instantly interact with the audience in various environments. Shadows of the same colored layers that form the numbers 2, and 0 created a 3D illusion. This illusion gives the feeling of relief and the numbers look like they melted into the background. The vivid color choice creates a subtle contrast with the tranquility of the wavy 20.
Our main focus was to highlight the consequent twenty years of the art festival as per the client’s request. Therefore, we wanted to put an emphasis on the number 20 itself. We also wanted our design to be easily recognized anywhere on the campus.
We started working on design concepts in November. The final version of this concept, however, was selected approximately after three months starting the initial ideas. During the process, we dedicated almost one month to develop this particular design concept.
This particular concept was among several others of which we presented. However, during the meetings, we especially wanted to focus on this concept because according to us this was the most successful one to meet the client's needs.
According to us, every design concept that we come up with is influenced by many artists and designers even if we are not consciously aware of it. For this particular one, we can say that our most important inspiration was Lucio Fontana’s works.
In addition to METU students, instructors, and staff, the target audience was kept broad for all art lovers located in Ankara.
Highlighting the 20th year in a subtle manner was a difficult job. This design concept was the strongest to achieve this intent. We believe that the vivid color choice creates a subtle contrast with the tranquility of the wavy 20.
The design is named by the art festival itself. We were not expected to come up with a different name.
We used certain photo manipulating and illustration oriented design software while working on this project.
For us, the most unique aspect of this design is the effective use of shadows. Thanks to this, we managed to keep the color palette to be as limited as it could be.
The design concept is developed among our team. However, the ODTU Sanat administrative committee was a crowded team consisting of members with various design and fine arts backgrounds. Therefore, during meetings, we exchanged many ideas with the committee.
The design tools and plugins were very helpful both for achieving the desired effect and for the design to appear in various media without a loss. The vector format ensured the design to appear the same in all printed materials in various sizes.
This was the fourth consecutive year of our team designing the visual identity system for ODTU Sanat. Also, being graduated from ODTU we were quite familiar with the university values and its identity. Therefore, the research phase for this project was done both consciously during the design process but it was also supported subconsciously by the knowledge came from our familiarity with the institution.
The biggest challenge was to be easily recognized in the METU campus, the largest green campus in Ankara. The visibility, legibility, noticeability were to be provided since there were many printed and digital materials to be designed and produced. In addition, as mentioned earlier, ODTU Sanat administrative committee is a crowded team consisting of members with various design and fine arts backgrounds. The other creative challenge for us was to come up with a design idea that could bring together the challenging opinions of the committee into a single system.
We were very pleased and confident in this design. Also, we received many positive feedbacks from both the administrative committee members and other designers which encouraged us to submit our design to A’Design Award & Competition.
During the design process, we always kept in mind that the visual identity system to be as flexible as it can. We were also very familiar with the variety of design materials from our previous experience in the same art festival’s visual identity system. In the end, we believe that we could come up with a very flexible visual identity system that could be applied in many printed and digital media.
Design Interview
4 May 2020 · Tualcom Logo and Brand Identity
The inspiration for the project comes from the notions of continuity and connectivity which directly refer to the fields of communication and RF Technologies, which TUALCOM operates in. The logomark is inspired by radiofrequency waves and it simply connects the letters T, U, A, and L. The resulting graphic language and the visual system instantly communicate with the broad audience in a compact and efficient way.
In this project, the main objective was to reflect the company values into a powerful logomark and branding. If you can refer the letters of the name of the company and the field at the same time, the logo functions well. In addition to that, simple and strong graphic language makes it a good design. Also, extensive research was made on both the existing logo and the visual identity as well as the graphic language of other companies in the field. The field research suggested that the new logo should be welcoming, young and unique, and simple but effective.
When we got this job, we had a deadline of 2 to 3 weeks. Actually, as you see it affected us very well
We are commissioned but the client didn’t limit us or give ideas. But they were hesitant to make a radical shift in the logo and the branding due to a concern of not being able to be recognized by their current customers and not being separated from opponents. In order to balance out the powerful change in the logo, we preserve the previous color combination and replaced it with a better-calibrated version of them. Therefore, the existing visual system of the company was preserved to respect its past. The client was highly satisfied with the results.
We were commissioned by TUALCOM to design this logo and branding.
Tualcom operates in the fields of communication and RF Technologies in the Defense Industry. So the target customer is Defense Industry.
Our design is successful because what generates the logomark and the branding is its reference to the field the company operates in and the letters of the company’s name. It has a context that makes it unique and powerful.
Starting the project, extensive research was made on both the existing logo and the visual identity as well as the graphic language of other companies in the field.
The main challenge of the re-branding is to convince the customer to a radical shift. Generally companies are hesitant to make a radical shift in the logo and the branding due to a concern of not being able to be recognized by their current customers. That was the biggest challenge.
As a team, we knew that it was a powerful rebranding. Also even if you tried hard, inspiration doesn’t always come in a way like this. So we didn’t want to miss this chance.
If it is a good design, no one sets against that:)
Design Legend Interview
4 May 2020
We are going to reply to the questions as Merve Okçu and Gizem Akdağ.
We both graduated from the architecture department at Middle East Technical University. We had built a very strong foundation on design in the school years. Our first steps starting the design journey are separate but then we found out we work well together in our last semester in METU(2015), in an elective course we took together. The course was about digital jewelry design. And less than one year after graduation we started designing brooches inspired by architecture and daily life.
We both graduated from the architecture department at Middle East Technical University. We had built a very strong foundation on design in the school years. Our first steps starting the design journey are separate but then we found out we work well together in our last semester in METU(2015), in an elective course we took together. The course was about digital jewelry design. And less than one year after graduation we started designing brooches inspired by architecture and daily life.
We choose to become a designer.
We mostly work on graphic design and brand identity, architecture and interior design, exhibition design, digital media, websites, and product design. We wish to work on more projects where we can design brand identity and space identity together.
We are composing an integrated brand identity that is visible in every detail from printed media to digital media. We wish to reflect these to spatial design too and create an exclusive brand identity for brands.
We are composing an integrated brand identity that is visible in every detail from printed media to digital media. We wish to reflect these to spatial design too and create an exclusive brand identity for brands.
Our secret ingredient is creating a design environment with free and honest communication.
Walter Gropius, İhap Hulusi Görey, Paul Rand, Paula Scher, Renzo Piano, Peter Zumthor, Aldo Rossi, Mies van der Rohe
Ziraat Bank logo of İhap Hulusi Görey and Citi Bank logo of Paula Scher. Both logos express so much about the brands. Also, the La Cupola Moka Pot Aldo Rossi designed for Alessi and the famous Barcelona Chair of Mies van der Rohe because they are designer architects like us and those designs showed us there is a huge design world for us in addition to architecture.
It is hard to choose but our favorites so far are the two projects we submitted to A Design Award: Tualcom Logo and Brand Identity and ODTÜ Sanat 20. Both were very challenging in their own individual way. We directed the requirements of the clients in designs carefully. This meticulous work led us to a good final product.
We worked really hard, researched so much and criticized each other unmercifully but respectfully.
We would’ve been salespeople in a designer shop
Design is many things but if we have to choose one, the design is the visualization of the combination of different emotions you feel at the same time.
We are the biggest supporter for each other :)
Endless and limitless design critics since the first day of architecture school. It forced us to be better in every project.
The biggest obstacle was the lack of self-confidence and the lack of persuasive skills it brings.
A very detailed presentation explaining both the design stages and the product. with a huge confidence
More international works :)
ODTÜsanat because it is the art festival of the school we graduated from and the city we all grew up in. So, contributing to ODTÜsanat represents a lot of things therefore it’s the most satisfying project we have.
Designers supporting each other more. Especially female designers.
Thanks to technological innovations, we can access to a wide range of design work. Also, designers can exchange ideas through online platforms. This makes the design field interactive and international. In addition to that, the rising technologies such as VR and AI expands our horizon in the ways we can’t even imagine before. Shortly, it is accelerating so fast and we need to speed up to catch it.
It is up to the client and the details of the project, but our aim is to finish in three months.
We start with defining the context of the project: for which company we are designing, what is the field, who is the target.
Don’t stop, won’t stop, never stop!
They both set each other
We design digitally so technology and technological improvements have a big role in our design process.
They stimulate the senses such as with different materials tactile sense arouses.
We fall in love immediately. Then we do a little criticizing how to improve it to an even greater design.
We are co-designing for more than 5 years together. So, we became the ideal design partner of each other.
Gizem: Zaha Hadid to talk about being a female in a male-dominated field and how being decisive affects your path to success.
Merve: Frida Kahlo to talk about how to be and stay creative in hard situations.
Merve: Frida Kahlo to talk about how to be and stay creative in hard situations.
Merve: Black, Berlin, Mantı, Spring, Shoes, The Ordinary
Gizem: Blue, Barcelona, Pasta, Spring, Pen, COS
Gizem: Blue, Barcelona, Pasta, Spring, Pen, COS
There are many funny stuff that happened but one time we were in a meeting and we were discussing the brands with strong brand identities. Our client was obsessed with McDonalds' brand identity and talked about it for hours. At some point, Big Mac was all that we could think about. Naturally, our first stop was the nearest McDonald's after the meeting :D
Gizem: Checking on inspirational things and dressing up
Merve: Doing a workout and planning the day
Merve: Doing a workout and planning the day
Gizem: My mother was sure that I was going to be an architect from my passion for drawing
Merve: Everybody told me that I should be an architect because of my lego skills
Merve: Everybody told me that I should be an architect because of my lego skills
Designer Interview
2 May 2020
Kenarköşe Creative has a slightly different background as a creative agency. It is founded by two architects, who are passionate about design. Now our team consists of three architects and a product designer and we all graduated from the same school. Having similar design educations give us the chance to communicate better in design jobs. Becoming a designer wasn’t a childhood dream for any of us but the urge to create was always there. After digging the past a little, we found out that the founders actually wanted to become architects since they were kids.
Kenarköşe is a multidisciplinary creative studio that aims to find inclusive and effective design solutions in different scales. Works of Kenarköşe synthesize strategic thinking with the creative vision in different fields such as graphics and identity, architecture and interior design, exhibition, digital media, websites, and product design.
Design is many things but if we have to choose one, design is the visualization of the combination of different emotions you feel at the same time, mostly positive ones.
We like to work on projects where we can design brand identity and space identity together.
It is hard to choose but our favorites so far are the two projects we submitted to A Design Award: Tualcom Logo and Brand Identity and ODTÜ Sanat 20. Both were very challenging projects and we are very proud of the final products.
We built a visual identity for ODTÜ Sanat 16, an annually held art and culture festival by the university that all of us graduated from, Middle East Technical University. The festival is centered around an exhibition under the established theme of the year and is supported by various cultural events like concerts, theatres that last about a month.
Building a strong foundation is very important to achieve a good design. In order to achieve that we focus on defining the context of the project: for which company we are designing, what is the field, who is the target, what is the problem our client is facing. This context shapes our design and makes it unique.
There is always excitement while creating something new. But also, tension, cause each person in the office is so critical. This is an important step in our design process because we criticize the designs very intensely before doing a presentation to the client.
Excited and emotional! Especially directly seeing the final products like prints or interior it gives us so much joy.
Whether it gives the right message to its users/audience.
Thanks to technological innovations, we can access to a wide range of design work. Also, designers can exchange ideas through online platforms. This makes the design field interactive and international. In addition to that, the rising technologies such as VR and AI expands our horizon in the ways we can’t even imagine before. Shortly, it is accelerating so fast and we need to speed up to catch it.
We don’t like limiting ourselves with a significant style. Our approach in our projects is to use a minimum number of elements to describe the most. This approach helps us achieve a timeless design piece.
Kenarköşe is located in Ankara, Turkey. We feel the formal soul of the Capital has adverse side effects on us as a creative agency. As designers, we need to free our minds to achieve our most creative version. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t seek for the “most creative”. That’s why we always have to push our limits to achieve the most.
The cultural heritage of Turkey is very layered with lots of civilizations lived in this land. Even though we don’t do traditional designs, it affects the way we think and see things.
The cultural heritage of Turkey is very layered with lots of civilizations lived in this land. Even though we don’t do traditional designs, it affects the way we think and see things.
Companies have to express themselves and their needs clearly to designers, this is the most important step. Additionally, they have to accept the fact that to achieve a good and practical design company/client has to be willing to work with the designer in terms of expressing their critics clearly instead of simply saying “no”.
We are still young and in the process of improving ourselves. But one thing we learned is improving sales and marketing skills are as important as your design skills. If you can’t convince the client about the quality and uniqueness of your design, shortly if you can’t sell your design, it can’t achieve its final goal.
Communication, persuasiveness, being a good observer and a researcher.
Deadlines are essential for the time management of a designer. It makes you think faster and more effectively. There is always a better idea, so knowing when to stop is important. We divide our time into pieces. Understanding the client and developing a context is the first part. Research and developing the idea is the second part. And combining these two into a design is the last part. Doing this planning, we try to create ourselves some “me times” to not to get lost in time.
A classic: Can we make the logo bigger? :)
The most important project we did is the design works of the last four ODTÜsanat festivals. It is the art festival of the school we graduated from, Middle East Technical University and it is an important arts and culture activity for Ankara.
The next step is getting a role in international projects.
We design individually but develop it as a team. The ideas of everyone in the design team is very important to shape the design. So the final product belongs to the team.
Actually we have a very exciting product design project going on right now but we are not allowed to talk iabout its details yet.
Via email to info@kenarkose.com
