This year, despite the compulsory changes in our daily lives and the limited interaction with our students through the screen, the Visual Communication Design department kept its tradition of letting the senior year students pick any theme that they like for their graduation projects. Hence our 23 candidates for graduation tackled their self-defined design problems in various media giving us a wide spectrum of colorful blossoms. As a result, the VCD projects range from illustrated books for children to a card game that seeks to boost creativity, from new car wash experiences to the design of a Tinder for Pets. Ayvalık becomes the ground for a new World of Warcraft expansion with its cultural highlights interwoven into the game’s narrative, while various sounds collected from İzmir give us a visual soundscape of our beloved city. These are just a few of the creative solutions that our new graduates bring to their self-authored problems, as our online exhibition is rich with visual stories that cover all the range from animations to new apps, from the tales of aspiring super heroes to stray animals. I send my warmest regards to the Class of 2021, may the force be with you! ​​​​​​​

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep ARDA Department Head of Visual Communication Design