Audiences

Just as in the rest of the world, the readers, audiences, consumers, users – whatever we like to call them but people in general – do not perceive graphic design as graphic design and are not concerning themselves with form, color, typography, print quality, space, or aesthetics. They are either impressed or unimpressed by the way we relate the messages; they buy them or leave them, read them or ignore them, elect them or unseat them (when the political parties are concerned). They do not really deal with graphic design issues.

            Formerly in the publications of the Islamic or conservative circles, we used to see elements of traditional arts, calligraphic fonts, page designs that featured arcs, domes, gilded decorations. When this community became wealthier and began to dominate the economy and politics, the appearance and the sense of graphic design in these publications started to change. The Zaman Newspaper and publications of the Istanbul Municipality are very conspicuous examples of this phenomenon.

            Graphic design does not transform the society; as societies change, perceptions change in terms of graphic design. The Municipality of Ankara cannot escape from the clutches of symbolism. There is a marked difference between Istanbul, the capital of culture, communication, economy and Ankara, the capital of politics, in terms of visual communication design. Ankara still debates over whether to use the Hittite sun symbol or a mosque in its logo.