Within the scope of IMU Career Week organized by our university between 6-10 May, IMU Design Days was held for the first time on 8-9 May 2024 by the Visual Communication Design Department. The event, which took place with the participation of valuable guests, consisted of five sessions and aimed to offer students a broad perspective about sectoral experiences.
The event was opened by our Dean and Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Yaşar Bülbül. In the first session, Lighthouse VFX was hosted under the moderation of Assoc. Dr. Özge Sayılgan. In the conversation titled "Visual Effects and 3D Design", Creative Director and CEO Arman Şernaz and our 3D designer graduates Melisa Öztürk and Muhammed Halit Küçük shared their knowledge and experiences about the sector with our students. Şernaz gave significant tips about application process to design studios after graduation and enabled students to gain close knowledge of the industry.
Another session that attracted great interest from students was moderated by Prof. Dr. Doğan Arslan. In the conversation titled “Illustration, Design and Humor”; illustrator, graphic artist and academician Gürbüz Doğan Ekşioğlu shared his academic and sectoral experiences and design processes. Ekşioğlu gave advice to students about education, business life and life itself.
In the last session of the first day, illustrator and cartoonist Necdet Yılmaz had a pleasant conversation by sharing anecdotes from his education and business life, his illustrator adventure and the stories of his work in his talk titled "Advertising, Design and Cartoon".
In the morning session on May 9, our graduate students Gökçen Burcu Şen, Hale Ege Alağuş, Merve Taş, Okay Aksu and Sara Baş, who made their way in the industry and academia, shared their student and graduation processes. In the Q&A session moderated by Assoc. Dr. Koray Sevindi, students had the opportunity to listen more closely to our graduate students' experiences by asking questions and benefiting from their experiences in their career journeys.
In the last session of IMU Design Days which was moderated by Assoc. Dr. Aslı İgit, İSF Studios and producer-director İsmail Fidan talked about production processes of their 3D movies such as "Rafadan Tayfa" and "Yade Yade" and shared the 3D animation production stages with the students. Furthermore, the scriptwriter Arzu Yurtseven shared the idea and scenario stages of an animated film with the participants and emphasized the importance of the idea in a visual narrative. Artificial intelligence, which was the focus of conversations about the future of our field, was discussed by guests and students in this section.
"IMU Design Days", which was held for the first time this year with the participation of our valuable professors, students and guests, aims to contribute to the education and career of our students in the coming years. It aims to convey current information and experiences to students by following innovations and developments.