Who is Öznur?
a brief biography

I was born and raised in Turkey and I traveled around the country since my parents are teachers. Spending my childhood and teenage years reading all sorts of books, eating chocolate and peanuts, listening to first New Kids on the Block, then metal music, studying for the university entrance exam to be a kick-ass economist, I managed to get into a brand new university, moved to Istanbul, never took a single economics class, tried computer science, flirted with cultural studies and art, went to exhibition openings for free booze, met people, walked through every interesting bit of the city, danced like no one is watching, took billions of photographs, eventually ended up getting a BA in visual communication design. After school, I got a job in an office with a view, rented a flat, 10 days later got accepted to all the schools applied for MA, decided to go to Italy. Went there with 3 suitcases, did a trip to IKEA, settled in the lovely tuna fish box shaped residence there. Drank lots of prosecco, ate lots of cheese, I didn't enjoy the local hotshot "torta 900" at all (apart from my "l'ultima collazione with giovanni"). I worked with my favorite turkish band on their new album, which is one of the highlights of my life. Walked through the empty streets of Milan in august, got back on track with clubbing, then went back to Ivrea to work on several projects for thesis all year long.
I'm pretty open to new ideas (unless it's about changing my hair), trying new things, seeing new places and meeting new people. I like mixing sweet and sour and am learning how to cook properly. A personal shopping assistant for close friends, I never get tired from going from shop to shop looking for the right shirt, sometimes the right pin. I like giving and getting gifts and love surprises! I'm a gadget freak, love surfing the web and online communities, have been contributing to Turkish online database EksiSozluk since 2000. I can talk all day long, and not notice it.

Professional resume

EDUCATION
2003-2005 Masters in Interaction Design, Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, Ivrea/ITALY
1999-2003 BA (honours) in Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design, Sabanci University, Istanbul / TURKEY

SCHOLARSHIPS
2003-2005 Full Scholarship from Interaction Design Institute Ivrea
1999-2003 Merit Scholarship from Sabanci University
Ranking 964th out of 1.5 million test takers in the
University Entrance Exam (OSS).
Fall 2000-Spring 2003 Work Study Scholarship from Sabanci University
Spring 2003 President's Scholarship, Parsons College of Design

EXHIBITIONS
Fall 2005 Catania Arte Fiera, Sicily
Summer 2005 EXIT, Interaction Design Institute Ivrea End of Year Show, Torino
Summer 2004 Tendenze idee progetti, BITE/borderline section, Sandretto Museum, Torino
Spring 2001-Fall 2003 Zaremba’s Studio Student Works Exhibitions, Sabanci University, Istanbul

WORK EXPERIENCE
Summer 2004 Interaction Designer, My-Tv, Milano
Concept development, Information architecture, Visual design
Summer 2003 Art Director, 2. Karma, Istanbul
Designing brand identities
Fall 2002-Spring 2003 Web Designer, Sabanci University, Istanbul
Design and implementation of web pages for Sabanci University
Summer 2002 Web Design Intern, Terminal Istanbul
Designing agency’s web page, graphic design and photography
Summer 2002 Guide and Interpreter, Environmental Film Festival, Istanbul
Fall 2001-Spring 2002 Illustrator, Sabanci University, Istanbul
Drawing illustrations for language books of Sabanci University
Fall 2000 Library Assistant, Sabanci University, Istanbul

LANGUAGES
Turkish (native), English (fluent), Italian(basic)

COMPUTER SKILLS
Operating Systems: Mac OS 9, X, Windows 98-XP
Proficient in: Adobe Photoshop,Illustrator, After Effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand, Dreamweaver
Have worked with: Acid Pro, Sound Forge, Adobe Premiere, Reason, Cubase, 3Ds Max, Maya