The tiger's success story in Europe

Gözde Naz Terzi, a graduate of the Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Department of Visual Communication Design achieved first place in Europe with her animation titled ‘Tora’, which tells the story of a tiger living in the forest. Terzi, who also drew the visuals used in the approximately 3-minute animation herself, brought great pride to the country by topping the list in the ‘Visual Arts’ category at the Global Undergraduate Awards, organized by an academic assessment and awards organization based in Ireland. The award winner Terzi said, “I want to carry this success, which I achieved with my final project at the university, into my professional life and continue to create beautiful work.”

Gözde Naz Terzi, who graduated this year from the IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Visual Communication Design, spent about 4 months working on ‘Tora’, a stop-motion animation based on tigers. In the animation that secured her the first-place prize, Terzi narrated the struggle of an insecure tiger suffering from body dysmorphia to resemble other tigers whom it perceives as more perfect, and how it eventually makes peace with itself.

Terzi single-handedly handled all the drawings, stage designs, and the editing for the animation. During this process, she received great support from the academics of the Graduation Project course: Visual Communication Design Department Head, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökhan Mura, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Lecturer N. Toros Mutlu.

“I BELIEVED IN MYSELF AND THE WORK I PRODUCED”

Terzi, who brought the international award to Turkey after being selected from dozens of ambitious projects, stated, “I had faith in my animation and believed I would get a good result in the competition. Of course, I was also waiting with excitement. I was thrilled when the results were announced and I learned I had won an award. I reached my goal. I prepared this animation for my department's final project. I worked meticulously, focusing on every detail. This project winning an award is a source of special pride for me. I will attend the conference in Ireland on November 9-12 to receive my award.”

“I EMPHASIZED THE PERCEPTION OF PERFECTION”

Providing information about the animation's content, Terzi said, “The animation tells the journey of a tiger living in the forest to self-acceptance and self-discovery. The tiger has an insecure mindset, viewing others as more perfect. It tries to be like other tigers, acting like them. But in the end, it accepts its own identity and gives up the effort to change. It finds itself and gains self-confidence. Today, especially with the increase in social media usage, the quest to be ‘perfect’ has accelerated. We see its effects in various ways. However, everyone is different and special with their personal characteristics. Everyone has different richness. Everyone is valuable for their different aspects as an individual. I also believe there is no generally definable concept of ‘perfection’. I wanted to emphasize this in the animation.”

“ETHICAL PROCESS, TRUE SUCCESS”

Congratulating his student, Asst. Prof. Dr. N. Toros Mutlu noted that he served as a jury member in the ‘Visual Arts’ category for the Global Undergraduate Awards in both 2023 and 2025. Mutlu pointed out that the competition is structured with strict adherence to ethical principles, saying, “In this award process, jury members never evaluate their own students’ work. When I saw Gözde’s project within the jury system, I excused myself from voting to maintain neutrality. Therefore, this success is entirely Gözde's own effort, vision, and creativity resonating globally. Seeing her success crowned with this award is a great source of pride for us.”