Titled “Journeys, Rituals, and an Archive: Writings of Sadık Karamustafa (1986-2019),” this e-publication takes its name from the metaphor of “three lives” related to Karamustafa’s design journey, which began in the 1960s. brings together Sadık Karamustafa’s writings from the 1980s onwards. In his writings, Karamustafa addresses theoretical and practical issues in graphic design, examining productions in this field from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic and offering a glimpse into Turkey’s visual cultural history.
The chronological flow of the publication sheds light on Karamustafa’s roles as a designer, educator, researcher, and civil society activist, accompanied by visuals. The articles highlight his professional competition and organizational efforts in the 1980s, when graphic design was still in its infancy, and his discussions on corporate identity, urban identity, and book design in the 1990s, as well as his publications and exhibitions aimed at addressing the lack of literature on the subject. In the 2000s, when private museums began to flourish in Istanbul and exhibition and design events diversified, Karamustafa drew attention to the need for archives and museums in the field of graphic design. The publication concludes with a detailed chronology of the important milestones in Karamustafa’s professional life; this chronology also serves as a guide to the archive, which is accessible alongside the e-publication.
The Sadık Karamustafa Archive brings together the designer’s posters, book covers, periodicals, corporate identities, and exhibition designs from the 1960s to the present day, as well as his correspondence, cartoons, and sketchbooks reflecting the culture of the period. The archive also includes ephemera, photographs, published news articles, reviews, interviews, and personal documents. The collection can be accessed via the Salt Research Graphic Design Archive at archives.saltresearch.org.
