The event titled 'Experience from Alumni: The Designer's Journey' was held under the moderation of Prof. Dr. And Algül, Head of the Visual Communication Design Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Communication. Çiğdem Didem Bozat, Assistant Visual Communication Specialist at Balonevi, participated as a guest.
“You cannot progress without exploring, you cannot live life”
Çiğdem Didem Bozat, a graduate of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Communication and Assistant Visual Communication Specialist at Balonevi, who was a guest at the online event, emphasized the importance for students to develop themselves and offered advice. Bozat said: “In most professions, you cannot get anywhere without developing yourself, because we are in 2023 right now, and if we stay where we are, the designs we make 10 years from now will have no value. The simplest example is that designs, thoughts, and colors used two years ago are not relevant now. This is also true for clothing. New season, new trend… If we progress in this way, it will be better for us. Life is like this. You cannot progress without exploring, you cannot live life. You can develop yourselves with books and seminars. Besides this, I definitely recommend art galleries. They are great places to see different perspectives. If you are present in such places, it will be very beneficial for your future and for you. We can draw inspiration from nature and life to inspire ourselves; we can get great inspiration from these.”
“You gain new knowledge in every field you work in”
Bozat, speaking about what needs to be done before starting a professional career, said: “You gain new knowledge in every field you work in. I recommend doing your internships at agencies because you go there to learn, and naturally, you gain the right to ask questions at agencies.
I reached this point by adding every work I did at university to my resume. I think your GPA should be above three. Work hard, strive, and you can achieve this. You should always be able to work. You should always feel inspired when you sit down at the computer. Don't just think about reading books in your own field; you should also read books in art, novels, crime, and fantasy genres. When reading a book, you will look at its cover with a designer's eye, examine it, and think about how you could create a design.”
The event concluded after a Q&A session.