Yolculuklar, Ayinler ve Bir Arşiv: Sadık Karamustafa Yazıları (1986-2019) [Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Texts of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019)]
Launched as part of the Graphic Design Archive initiated in 2023, Salt presents a new e-publication, Yolculuklar, Ayinler ve Bir Arşiv: Sadık Karamustafa Yazıları (1986-2019) [Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Texts of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019)], available in Turkish in PDF and EPUB formats.
The publication brings together Sadık Karamustafa's writings from the 1980s to the present. In these texts, Karamustafa reflects on theoretical and practical issues in graphic design and offers insight into the history of visual culture in Turkey, analyzing works produced from the Ottoman to the Republican era. Accompanied by images from his archive—which presents a multifaceted portrait of Karamustafa as a designer, educator, researcher, and civil society activist—the publication follows a chronological flow. His writings from the 1980s highlight the competitive landscape and early efforts toward professional organization in a field that was still unfamiliar with the contemporary notion of "design." In the 1990s, he engaged with discussions around corporate identity, urban identity, and book design, as well as publications and exhibitions developed in response to the lack of original literature in the field. In the 2000s, as private museums gained momentum in Istanbul and exhibition and design practices diversified, Karamustafa emphasized the need for archives and museums dedicated to graphic design.
The publication takes its title from Karamustafa's metaphor of "three lives," which refers to his design journey that began in the 1960s, and concludes with a detailed personal chronology. Featuring anecdotes about the key developments he considers pivotal in his career, this chronology also serves as a guide to his archive at Salt Research.
Click here to view Sadık Karamustafa's archive, which traces the designer's work from his student years to the present and includes a wide range of materials related to cultural life, spanning design, art, literature, publishing, theater, performance, and cinema.
About Sadık Karamustafa
Born in 1946 in Yalıköy, Fatsa, Sadık Karamustafa studied graphic design at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul (today Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University). He completed his master's and doctorate studies at the same university and worked for publishing houses, advertising agencies, and theaters until establishing his studio in 1979. In 2001, he founded Karamustafa Tasarım with Ayşe Karamustafa. From 1989 to 2013, he was a faculty member at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. He has realized several projects on exhibition, publication, and institutional identity design across various fields, ranging from archaeology and art to architecture and literature. He has participated in exhibitions in Turkey and abroad and served as a jury member in local and international design competitions. Since 1995, he has been the design consultant for Tüyap Book and Art Fairs. He was the chief curator of the Frankfurt Book Fair Guest of Honour Turkey project in 2008 and a founding member of the Museum of the Princes' Islands in 2010. He worked in various roles at the Association of Graphic Designers in Turkey (GMK) from 1982 and served as the vice president of the International Council of Design (ICoD) for two terms between 1995-1999. In 1997, Karamustafa became the first graphic designer from Turkey to be elected as a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. The same year, he launched "Grafist: Istanbul Graphic Design Days," the first international event on design education in Istanbul. He continues his work in Istanbul, Ayvalık, and Berlin.
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Yolculuklar, Ayinler ve Bir Arşiv: Sadık Karamustafa Yazıları (1986-2019) [Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Texts of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019)]
Turkish, 421 pages ©2025 Salt/Garanti Kültür A.Ş. (Istanbul)
ISBN: 978-625-95407-1-9
Editors: Tuğçe Kaplan, Eda Sezgin
Copy Editor: N. Can Kantarcı
Texts: Sadık Karamustafa, Eda Sezgin
Graphic Design and Application: Elif Tuna
Salt Research Graphic Design Archive and the e-publication Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Texts of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019) are supported by Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi.
The publication brings together Sadık Karamustafa's writings from the 1980s to the present. In these texts, Karamustafa reflects on theoretical and practical issues in graphic design and offers insight into the history of visual culture in Turkey, analyzing works produced from the Ottoman to the Republican era. Accompanied by images from his archive—which presents a multifaceted portrait of Karamustafa as a designer, educator, researcher, and civil society activist—the publication follows a chronological flow. His writings from the 1980s highlight the competitive landscape and early efforts toward professional organization in a field that was still unfamiliar with the contemporary notion of "design." In the 1990s, he engaged with discussions around corporate identity, urban identity, and book design, as well as publications and exhibitions developed in response to the lack of original literature in the field. In the 2000s, as private museums gained momentum in Istanbul and exhibition and design practices diversified, Karamustafa emphasized the need for archives and museums dedicated to graphic design.
The publication takes its title from Karamustafa's metaphor of "three lives," which refers to his design journey that began in the 1960s, and concludes with a detailed personal chronology. Featuring anecdotes about the key developments he considers pivotal in his career, this chronology also serves as a guide to his archive at Salt Research.
Click here to view Sadık Karamustafa's archive, which traces the designer's work from his student years to the present and includes a wide range of materials related to cultural life, spanning design, art, literature, publishing, theater, performance, and cinema.
About Sadık Karamustafa
Born in 1946 in Yalıköy, Fatsa, Sadık Karamustafa studied graphic design at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul (today Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University). He completed his master's and doctorate studies at the same university and worked for publishing houses, advertising agencies, and theaters until establishing his studio in 1979. In 2001, he founded Karamustafa Tasarım with Ayşe Karamustafa. From 1989 to 2013, he was a faculty member at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. He has realized several projects on exhibition, publication, and institutional identity design across various fields, ranging from archaeology and art to architecture and literature. He has participated in exhibitions in Turkey and abroad and served as a jury member in local and international design competitions. Since 1995, he has been the design consultant for Tüyap Book and Art Fairs. He was the chief curator of the Frankfurt Book Fair Guest of Honour Turkey project in 2008 and a founding member of the Museum of the Princes' Islands in 2010. He worked in various roles at the Association of Graphic Designers in Turkey (GMK) from 1982 and served as the vice president of the International Council of Design (ICoD) for two terms between 1995-1999. In 1997, Karamustafa became the first graphic designer from Turkey to be elected as a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. The same year, he launched "Grafist: Istanbul Graphic Design Days," the first international event on design education in Istanbul. He continues his work in Istanbul, Ayvalık, and Berlin.
Yolculuklar, Ayinler ve Bir Arşiv: Sadık Karamustafa Yazıları (1986-2019) [Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Texts of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019)]
Turkish, 421 pages ©2025 Salt/Garanti Kültür A.Ş. (Istanbul)
ISBN: 978-625-95407-1-9
Editors: Tuğçe Kaplan, Eda Sezgin
Copy Editor: N. Can Kantarcı
Texts: Sadık Karamustafa, Eda Sezgin
Graphic Design and Application: Elif Tuna
Salt Research Graphic Design Archive and the e-publication Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Texts of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019) are supported by Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi.
