Zeynep Lokmanoglu

I grew up in Turkey. This is what I remember. There were several accents… and some stood out more than others.

An essay for KCRW Berlin.

Just as I was losing all hope that my taste buds will ever find that searing sedating sensation of a Sichuan peppercorn anywhere in Berlin, Liu 成都味道 Chuan Chuan Xiang und Nudelhauscame my way. The Chengdu–style noodle shop is run by Liu Linqian and her husband, Bernhard Sroka, and is just off the Stadtmitte stop. It all started when the Chengdu–born expert baker couldn’t find authentic noodles to her tasting in Berlin. She began experimenting in the kitchen and soon became popular in Berlin’s...

On a relatively sparse stretch of Danziger Str. is an unassuming flavor heaven — a Mexican and Latin American grocery store called Chili & Paprika. Stepping inside immerses you in a world of products that rarely make an appearance in Berlin. Beautiful bottles of mezcal and tequila line shelves. Various chilies cover an entire wall: serranos, jalapenos, chipotles, in adobo, plain, whatever your heart or recipe desires. There’s a candy section, a tortilla section, and even a Dias de Los Muertos...

Often, your logo serves as an example for the tone, aesthetic and values of the entire brand. Setting guidelines ensures that the logo is used properly and as you had intended. These guidelines are called logo usage guidelines and they are an integral part of any brand strategy and brand style guide.
So what are logo usage guidelines? Logo usage guidelines should be part of every company’s brand guidelines because they offer a way to exercise control over how a logo looks over different backg...

Logos these days have to exist in more spaces than ever before. You might need to blow your logo up to the size of a billboard or shrink it down so that it fits within a URL bar. And in each of these scenarios, your logo must stay consistent and recognizable. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead and consider each of the different logo sizes and logo dimensions early on in the design process.

While many Syrian refugees live in camps, one Turkish city is adjusting to an influx of more than 100,000 new neighbors....

Occupiers Faced Down Cops in Istanbul's Taksim Squa...

Today, the majority of our content consumption takes place in the digital world. To keep up with our reliance on technology, marketing has also gone digital. This shift requires your brand to have a presence in the digital world. In order to build a successful digital presence for your brand, you need to have a solid digital marketing strategy.

Restaurants are all about the experience. From your marketing to your menu to your main courses, your restaurant branding communicates people who you are and what to expect from you. The taste of the food, the attitude of the staff, the style of the decor all need to work together to create something memorable.

How would people describe your brand? How do you want them to describe it? Quirky? Professional? Practical? No matter what direction you go in, branding is the path that will get you there.

Tons of graphic design resources and tools that can help you be even more creative are right at your fingertips. Looking for vectors? Or stock images? How about trendy, unique fonts? Or maybe a little bit of inspiration? It’s all within reach—especially if you know where to go.

We interact with food logos every day, all day long. We grab a carton of milk from our fridge. We walk down a street passing delis and restaurants. Maybe we run to the grocery store to grab a quick snack. We’re constantly assessing food choices offered to us by brands—and food logos play a big part in making these choices.
The ones that appeal to us the most and that visually convey their brand identity in the best way possible are usually the ones we, the customers, go back to and stay with....

Even if you’re not familiar with its name or history, it’s very likely that you have yearned after a work of Mid-Century Modern design at one point or another—perhaps after watching an episode of Mad Men.