MUSTAFA EMRE GÖZLEVELİ

Hello, I’m Mustafa Emre Gözleveli. I am a multidisciplinary designer who has studied Urban Planning and Product Design. After the Urban Planner degree, I received at Middle East Technical University (METU), one of the leading universities in Turkey, I continued my Industrial Product Design education at Istanbul Technical University (ITU). Following these processes, I started to work as a product designer at ISTON, leading urban furniture company in Turkey. In the first year, I developed the first-in-history Taxi Stand design which was used all around the country. The Taxi Stand Design became a leading design setting an example for the development of similar urban furniture. The Bus Stop, I designed in the same year, was the first original design that the company exported. During the 13 years I worked at ISTON, I developed more than 100 urban furniture designs most of which came to life as real products. In addition to product designs, I took part in The Standardization of Urban Furniture Project in Istanbul and the development of original designs for the historical peninsula. After taking part in those and many other projects, I left ISTON in 2016 to establish my own design company – Memreg Industrial Design.

 

I created two brands, Urbaniture and Nurturing Peach, under the umbrella of Memreg Industrial Design. I developed a structure that provides urban furniture design services under Urbaniture and visual communication design services under Nurturing Peach brands. I set up data-driven design processes for the design process to be carried out correctly for both brands. I developed surveys, participatory and inclusive processes that reveal the user’s needs.

 

Nurturing Peach was founded with the aim to expand the sphere of influence of NGOs with design. For this reason, I prioritized working with non-profit organizations in Nurturing Peach. More than 20 Logo designs and corporate identity guides were created. One of the most significant campaigns I leaded was the Running for Scholarship campaign, where METU Alumni run to collect donations. A microsite was designed for the campaign, and social media accounts were used effectively. Within the 4-month campaign management cost of only 2500 dollars, a resource of approximately 175 thousand dollars was created. This amount was almost 3 times the previous 5-year average. This success has also been a motivating factor for many alumni associations. In addition to METU graduates, I also managed the activities of Industrial Designers’ Society of Turkey for 4 years. We have expanded the association’s sphere of influence with innovative activities.

 

At Urbaniture, I prioritized design development in innovative and neglected areas. I have developed urban furniture designs for young people, for parents, and for children so that they can participate more actively in urban life. I prepared conceptual projects that reflect technological developments on urban furniture. I developed disaster-oriented urban furniture designs. In line with these studies, I included Urbaniture among the reference companies of ASELSAN, Turkey’s largest defense electronics company. I continue to develop urban furniture designs that respond to developing technological and sociological developments.

 

In addition to my business life, I have been supporting student projects as a consultant for 20 years. Every year, I have been consulting at least 2 students within the framework of their graduation projects. In addition to that, more than 20 design students were supported to gain professional experience within the internship program.

 

Since I care about conveying professional experiences, I became a teaching staff of furniture design and urban furniture design at the university for 3 years. I developed the original syllabus for both courses myself. In addition, I ran short-term workshops at universities in different periods.

 

Besides my identity as a designer, I became a partner of the Youth Deal Cooperative, which is a cooperative working to improve the capacities of other cooperatives in Turkey. In this context, we have realized projects with international organizations such as ILO and Worldbank.

 

I was on the board of directors of the Industrial Designers’ Society of Turkey Istanbul Branch until recently. Here, too, I take part in advocacy studies on the execution of the design discipline in Turkey.

 

During my time in Istanbul, I was an active member of the Istanbul METU Alumni Association. I served as a vice president for about 2 years. During this period, I organized different events for graduates. I organized a charity concert with 600 people participating. I contributed to the gathering of alumni by organizing activities such as cultural tours, night entertainment, breakfasts, and so on. I took an active role in the METU alumni council for 4 years and supported the development of university alumni relations.

 

As a professional designer specialized in urban furniture, the most important thing for me is to develop myself in every aspect when it comes to people’s lives. It is very crucial to understand city dynamics including people’s movement patterns and habits. To achieve this, understanding people from different perspectives always helped me. That’s why not only working as a professional but also working with students, university alumni and NGOs helped me to gain the perspective and understand the people’s need from different angles.

 

I also enjoy archery, nature trips, sailing, watching performing arts and watching my favorite team’s football matches.

 

I’ve been married for 8 years. I have a perfect wife and a child. I really enjoy spending time with them. I continue to work to build a good life for them and myself.