Interview with Polin Kuyumciyan

I had a college professor who once said 'When you are photographer, you are a fine artist. When you become a designer, you're not fine anymore.' I love that and I love the contraints that come with being a designer.

I chose to become a designer. My other option would have been acting.

I would like to design books and more artist catalogues. I have a tendency to divide things into categories and manage cabinets of informations. A multiple paged design work attracts me in that sense.

A good sense of what works visually and great communication skills. You have to understand people in order to design for them.

When both you and the customer agree on the same thing and you completely fall in love with the end result. Of course it's also very crucial that the audience understands your message and you design translates correctly.

I would design more stationery related products. I like working with paper and thinking of different ways to adapt stationery for the needs of modern society.

I want to work on a massive personal project to help me grow as a person and as a designer.

I am a very fast worker. And my speed usually works for my advantage. I guess I can say it's my secret ingredient.

Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh. I love their approach to design and how they know to manage work and personal projects both at the same time.

I'm always drawn to big, bold, fun, colorful, geometric designs. These visual elements keep popping up in my designs as well. I cannot create a 'quiet' design, it usually ends up being loud. A few examples: in fashion, Dice Kayek designs are simply magnificent; in jewellery, I really like Contour Studio's geometric designs; in graphic design, Alan Fletcher, Phil Cleaver, Jessica Walsh, Stefan Sagmeister and Leta Sobierajski are some of the mega talents.

Stick to deadline, be organized, don't overdo.

I had two passions growing up: drawing and acting. If not a designer, I would have definitely become an actress.

Design is everything we see, touch and feel. Design dictates the modern society and shapes the way we live. Design is the reason why we choose the way we live.

My family was and is always my biggest supporter. Apart from them, during my college education, one of my professors, Hammett Nurosi has been a great mentor to me.

I cannot see myself as a great designer but an evolving one. Hard work, persistence, time management, research and networking are some of the few things that I work on every day.

In my opinion every phase of every work should be presented with great attention to detail. A sloppy presentation of a great design devalues the design whereas a carefully worked presentation of a mediocre design polishes the design and makes it stand out. Presentation is always a key factor in success.

I want to work on a massive personal project because I believe it will help me widen my perspective and grow as a designer. And I always have stationery project in line, waiting to be realized.

To be as versatile as possible and to have many personal projects.

Society depends on design and design shapes the future of society. How and where the society lives, which products it purchases, what kind of decisions it makes, how it moves and evolves all depend on design.

I have a couple of exciting projects: logo design, website design and more stationery projects for my brand PK Design. I think the best part of being a freelancer is that you can multitask and work on different projects at the same time.

I love working on books, catalogues and stationery products. Print works are my favourite. Deciding the size, quality of paper and print techniques is a very satisfactory process.

In terms of graphic design, I think we will see motion graphics a lot more in the future and the future is graphic design will grow largely in digital platforms. Most graphic designers will also become UX/UI designers. It won't be an extra skill to learn, UX will be a natural part of graphic design.

It depends on the needs of the customer and the size of the project really. But in overall, it usually takes around a month to finalize everything.

I start with a mix of research and sketching. Sometimes, although very rarely, I can come up with the answer right away.

In order to succeed in designing, you have to master communicating.

I think it is a matter of chicken and egg. It is a two way street.

As almost every graphic designer, I am very attached to my computer. However I'm not super program savvy. I know enough to help myself deliver my ideas on canvas.

I mostly use the Adobe products such as Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Premiere Pro. I always use a sketchbook initially and then move on to the software. Books, both design related and unrelated, can also be part of my design process. I do a lot of research on shutterstock, pinterest and font sources. And I always save inspiring ideas or images/things I come across for later use.

As a graphic designer, color plays a huge role in the design process and end result. Each color triggers and emotion and especially branding design requires a lot of research and attention for color. Materials are important if the work will be printed. The size of a book or the cover properties, printing techniques and paper choice are all very important in order to create a mood and convey the proper message.

It's always hearts coming out of my eyes. At least that is my first reaction. And then I go on about studying it.

I like working alone and frankly think I work better that way. But if I had a partner, I would prefer someone who is not a designer but a marketing specialist. Designing and marketing go hand in hand and while I work on the designing bit, it would be nice for someone to handle the marketing side.

I have a group of friends and family members from different backgrounds and professions whom I email or show my process and design. I always ask for criticism and feedback. I think it's important to see what your design resonates in the minds of others, especially non-designer people.

I met one

I'd love to meet pirates! I would listen to their stories and turn them into a children's book that I write, design and illustrate. It would be fascinating.

Blue, home, steak, summer, mirror, Nuuna. There are many more brands but Nuuna is one my favourite stationery brands.

I met one of my biggest clients while sitting at another client's stationery fair booth. I was going to have a quick meeting with my client and I was waiting for my turn. So I sat down at one of the tables in the booth (it was a huge booth) and started playing Candy Crush. That's when two men asked my permission to sit at my table. They were also waiting for a quick meeting so while waiting for our turns, we started chatting. They asked me what I did for a living and it turned out that they were looking for a freelance graphic designer. My client vouched for me at the spot and I was hired the next week!

I have many beautiful mugs for lots of coffee and tea during the day. That's the number one must I require for motivation. A great chair and a big desk full of my notebooks and to do lists are also my other motivational objects.

I always was very interested in arts, especially in drawing and acting. In the end I became a freelance graphic designer, where I mix and match both those skills and apply to my work.

It might be just wishful thinking but I don't the human race will survive for that long. Or maybe a superior species will evolve, one that doesn't harm nature as much.

I have founded by design studio, Polin Kuyumciyan Studio, in 2014 as a one woman show. I get occasional help from editors, copywriters, photographers, illustrators and software developpers, depending on the project I work on. IMy studio mainly specializes on printed works such as branding, logo design, catalogue / brochure design and stationery design. Of course, with the digitalization of every aspect of daily life, I also get projects concerning social media design, website design and UI/UX Design.

Design is everything we see, touch and feel. Design dictates the modern society and shapes the way we live. Design is the reason why we choose the way we live.

My favourites are catalogue, stationery and presentation design. My brain loves categories and listing things so I love to deal with a multiple paged design project. Those projects allow me to divide things into lists and categories and work from there on. Also paper is simply amazing.

I generally fall in love with a very well designed book and frankly I have so many to choose from. Recently I bought a special edition book of Animal Farm by Can Yayinlari (a Turkish publishing house). It comes in a special wooden cover and the book cover is covered with hay. I fell in love immediately.

A logo for a sunglasses company when I was a student at RISD. It was called Nifty Glasses.

I think right now computer is my go-to medium. Among the programs I love Adobe Illustrator. It gives me a good amount of space to work with. But my all time favourite would always be a paper and a pen/pencil.

Mostly during night time. During the day there is so much going on. Emails keep popping, customers call and text, last minute revisions come up and it's just hectic. But when everyone goes home and it gets quiet outside, I can concentrate really well. Also weirdly enough, I get very creative when I'm under pressure.

Two things make the top of the list: The interaction between imagery (shapes / patterns / objects / photography) and typography as well as the hierarchy of text.

For me, designing is a long and tiring process. Mostly I'm navigating my way through many questions and rather than feeling a certain way, I get a mixture of curious and confused.

When the customer gets satisfied and I see the final draft completed, I feel completely ecstatic.

When both you and the customer agree on the same thing and you completely fall in love with the end result. Of course it's also very crucial that the audience understands your message and you design translates correctly.

Does it suit the needs of the company? Can the audience understand the message fast and easy? Does the eye travel from one part to the next, following the correct path of the story?

In my point of view, a designer is a person who stands in between a problem and a solution that concerns the society. Plus we have the benefit of finding that solution in the most eye catching, beautiful and successful way.

In terms of graphic design, I think we will see motion graphics a lot more in the future and the future is graphic design will grow largely in digital platforms. Most graphic designers will also become UX/UI designers. It won't be an extra skill to learn, UX will be a natural part of graphic design.

My last exhibition was in college and after that I never had another exhibiton. But I would love to participate in the next Istanbul Design Biennial.

The answers to all the three questions are about the same: books, design shops, travel, food, sleeping, friends, interesting conversations, new technologies and most of all, great design!

My design style is mostly typographic and colorful. I like using type as imagery when working pn personal projects or my stationery products. Big, bold, colorful type always has always attracted me since college and once I realized that's what I enjoyed, I started combining it with geometrical shapes and more color. I think everything looks better bigger, bolder and brighter! Contrast always catches the eye and from there on, one can convey a message to its audience.

I am from Istanbul, Turkey and still live here. Cultural heritage definitely affects my perspective. Not just the way I design, but the way I go about my interacting with my clients. I think pros and cons of living and designing in Turkey are same: everything is urgent, which makes forces me to think faster and work faster, and graphic design is still not fully known and understood, which allows me to introduce myself to all kinds of possible clients.

Usually companies find me through internet or previous customers. I have an initial meeting with them and try to figure out their needs. Then I'd ask them to send me and email of all the the elements they want me to design. I might add or suggest some as well. After we negotiate and finalize the pricing, I'd send them a timetable with realistic end dates. And then the design / revision / finalize process begins.

Although some companies in Turkey know how to brief a designer, mostly they have to taught how to. That is one my daily tasks. When briefing a designer, they should always write an email and be very clear about what they want. The images

I would start by making a research on the client and the type of work they want. If it's a logo, I would search for interesting and new fonts. If it is a catalogue, I would first sketch possible layouts and try out the my favourite ones on the computer.

My Louis Erard watch, the dining table that my grandfather made about 50 years ago, my collection of playing cards (love all of them, cannot pick one), a whisky glass I bought from Venice and my engagement ring.

I usually wake up around 9 or 10 am, take a shower, have my breakfast and head to my office. With a cup of coffee, I check my emails, post feeds and storied to my social media account and then begin

Always have a tidy work space, always carry a small notebook for inspiration and idea lists, make lots of friends and expand your network.

Both would have the same answer: dealing with a client.

Stick to deadline, be organized, don't overdo.

A good sense of what works visually and great communication skills. You have to understand people in order to design for them.

I mostly use the Adobe products such as Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Premiere Pro. I always use a sketchbook initially and then move on to the software. Books, both design related and unrelated, can also be part of my design process. I do a lot of research on shutterstock, pinterest and font sources. And I always save inspiring ideas or images/things I come across for later use.

I usually work with on 5 projects simultaneously. I make a timeline for all of them prior to accepting the job, so that both the customer and I can follow the exact schedule. It can of course be tiring but one of my most outstanding qualities is working rather fast.

It depends on the customer and the job but on the average, I can say about a month.

How can you work so fast? I tend to work really fast. It might be because I don't have too much patience and have very little tolerance for slow everything. It's both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Although I cannot put it on my portfolio and technically it is not my design, on my first year as a freelancer, I landed the job for Epsilon Publishing House (Turkish company), as their licensed product designer. That was a whole new experience for me and in the first two weeks, I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up working with them for two years and I gained too many skills from that job.

Some of the past and current local / global clients include: Güçlü Kırtasiye, Tarko Kozmetik, X Flats, Hacı Bekir, Assan Gayrimenkul, İKSV, Apple, Epsilon Yayınevi, Bain de Mer, BUGECE, Muzlu, Tepta Aydınlatma, AKS Otomotiv, Keskin Color, iodes, Yasocial and more.

I enjoy working on stationery projects or catalogue/book designs. And I think it shows because among all the work I've done up until now, those have always been my favourites. Firstly, I love paper. And I love the options I have for a multiple paged design. I enjoy thinking in terms of categories. Playing with the layout, seeing how typography works with the images, learning new ways to convey a message on a page are all great!

I want to work with more international clients. And I believe I would learn a lot more by working for people from different cultures. It would definitely widen my perspective.

I develop my designs myself. I love having a team but I don't like to have people physically be around me when I design. I have a weird method and working hours. I would definitely have a meeting with a team at the beginning of the project, and talk about the process and role distribution. From there on an email thread is usually sufficient for everyone to deliver on time and keep up with the updates. If necessary, I would meet up with the team if something out of plan occurs and sort it out.

I currently work on three logos, one UX / website design, 2 branding, 3 packaging projects and one future online class about freelancing. I like multitasking, it keeps me interested in my work. Many people might disagree but working on many projects at the same time is easier for me.

They can most easily contact me via email: polinkuyumciyan@gmail.com

Thank you!