The experienced graphic designer knows that every project that he/she is confronted with needs special treatment, special stylistic elements, special visual effects, typography and layout specific to the demands of the content and context, as well as aims and targets of that particular project. Some designs need to reflect a particular period in history, carry elements of a particular geography and location and almost every conceivable graphic design projects need to "visualise" a mood, a feeling, a concept: We need to design things that are "nostalgic" or "upbeat" or hygienic", "serious" or "frivolous"...

This site was designed especially with the non-western graphic design/multimedia design student and/or emerging young designer in mind, and this is based mainly upon my experiences as a graphic design instructor of 12 years in Turkey. In Istanbul, where I live it is highly likely that as you walk down the street you will see establishments as diverse as, say, a hairdresser, a real estate agent and a butcher with very similar shop signs: Similar, if not identical, in typography, layout and colour scheme. Banks will "look" like garment retailers and garment retailers will "look" like restaurants (view samples >>>>). Other non-western countries that I have visited show very much the same graphic design phenomenon. Special research and studies in sociology and social psychology can and should be conducted as to why this is so. Being a graphic designer it is not my place or area of expertise to do so. What I have however tried to do is to try and show ways and means to learn to see the fundamentals of some visual styles from a designers point of view, especially if you are from a culture where this information is not instilled into you by your environment, as seems to be the case with Turkish design students. I find my students to be highly intelligent and creative but unfortunately totally lost when it comes to incorporating specific stylistic elements, be they historic, cultural or geographic. This site was created for them.

What shapes are likely to give you a 50's "Retro" look? Which typeface is "warm", which is "sombre" and which is "hip"? What colour schemes would be suitable for evocing a "tribal" feel to your project? If you had to make something look "medieval" what would you do: Choose Gothic or contemporary ultracompressed typefaces? How do you translate oriental typographic elements to contemporary design? Were you to design a jam jar label would you make it round or cornered? The questions are endless and I do not claim to have all the best ones or indeed that my solutions are the best or only proper ones. What I hope is to inspire young designers to find their own unique "style" whilst exploring "styles".

This is not an Art History website. Art Historians will inevitably have much to disapprove: I do not give names of artists and designers or dates, or indeed historic, literary or cultural references. My approach is simplistic and pragmatic, it is meant to be so. I apologize to them for any mistakes I make and for the inevitably facile approach.

It will be stating the obvious but I would still like to make it clear that I am vehemently opposed to the superficial adaptations of historic or cultural design elements, without any kind of insight into or understanding of the factors, timelines and events that brought them about; to achieve slick and superficial results. This, as far as I am concerned is pillaging and cultural looting of the first order. What I want to achieve, what I can in fact only hope to achieve, is to introduce my students to these worlds and give them a taste for further exploration and learning. To make them see that they are citizens of the world in its entirety, part of its long and diverse history and evolution; and not just the particular geographical location and era that they happen to be in. Becoming a good designer requires tremendous breadth of vision and knowledge alongside intuition, empathy and an understanding of cultural phenomena: This website will, at best, only be able to accomplish the first few steps in that long journey.