Tell us a little bit about where you grew up and and a fun childhood memory

 

This is Fatih from Istanbul. I grew up in a small city called Eskisehir in central Turkey.

I came to Istanbul for university in 1998 and have been here ever since. After university

I worked as a tourist guide in Turkey and at a lot of other international destinations for Turkish tourists. It was a great experience learning about my own culture and other cultures by traveling and feeding my creativity for future work.

 

Growing up, my friends and I used to build villages and pretend to be adults. We would build houses, create our own currency, a bus for transportation to our work places,

a restaurant, a total imaginary adult life all built with stones, bushes and any junk we could find at the empty piece of land close to where we lived. That empty field was the most remarkable place of my childhood and I believe it enriched my composition skills as

a graphic designer.

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How has your cultural upbringing influenced your work?

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I create simple graphics that carry a solid message to the viewer. I sometimes use cultural references in my work but I can say what really shapes my work is not my cultural upbringing but questioning it.

 

What is a product from your country/culture/childhood you can't live without?

 

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is Yogurt. It's a Turkish word by the way.

I can't live without plain Yogurt. I love it and it makes me happy ever since I was a kid.

 

What would you bring as a gift from your country when visiting abroad?

 

I'd bring Turkish delight double pistachio. Never saw anyone who says "no" to that.

 

What are the stereotypes about your country/culture? What would you like your country to be known for?

 

The stereotypes about my country is mostly food related. I'm happy for that.

Because I like our cusine. Specially with Yogurt.