Turkish and Japanese industrial design students came together at the international workshop held at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) to work on street foods such as boyoz (type of pastry), kumru (type of sandwich), gevrek (type of bagel), şambali tatlısı (Turkish Damascus dessert), and stuffed mussels. 24 students started to work on unique designs that will make preparing and serving of street food more attractive as part of the “ALBERABER International Design Workshop” held by the collaboration of IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design and Shizuoka University of Art and Culture in Japan. The workshop will continue until September 3, and 6 groups, each group with 4 students, will be working on product, service, and system designs and develop new solutions for production, consumption, and waste management issues. The kind of designs regarding Izmir tastes will be thoroughly examined academically for the first time at the workshop that takes place on Campus Izmir, first model of university-city integration in Turkey. At the end of the workshop, which is being organized for the sixth time for IUE and Japanese students, all designs will be exhibited on Campus Izmir first, and then in Japan.
“They meet with the leading companies of Japan”
Asst. Prof. Can Özcan, IUE Head of Department of Industrial Design, stated that the Japanese team of 14 people (12 students and 2 academics) visited the historical sites of Izmir before the workshop. Asst. Prof. Özcan reported that the Japanese team had a chance to research the Kadifekale Pagos Produce Market, Varyant, Kemeraltı, Alsancak and witnessed the making process of the tastes they would be designing for. Özcan said, “The series of workshops, as part of the collaboration between IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design and Shizuoka University of Art and Culture in Japan, continues since 2014. Students meet in Turkey for one year and in Japan the other year according to the project protocol. This way, our students find an opportunity to introduce themselves to the leading international companies of Japan.”
“Delivering a formula for entrepreneurs”
Asst. Prof. Özcan, who gave information about this year’s workshop, said, “Ideas on tastes of Izmir that could be brought into action will be revealed at this workshop. In addition to focusing on street foods such as boyoz, kumru, gevrek, şambali tatlısı, and midye dolma, students will work on other tastes such as kokoreç (charcoal grilled seasoned mutton intestines), uykuluk (sweetbread) and söğüş (boiled meat) that are identified with Turkish culture, and Izmir in particular. The designs will also be exhibited at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I believe very unique designs will come out of this workshop. Not product designs only, but ideas on how to present products may come out. For example, there may be designs on how to unshell or eat mussels easily as well as ideas on how to deliver stuffed mussels warm across Izmir. Designs and ideas created by students may be turned into commercial initiatives. In this sense, formula is being delivered to the entrepreneurs.”
