About
I’m a systems thinker who works across disciplines — brand identity, typography, editorial, digital, spatial, and motion — with NGOs, startups, cultural institutions, and international clients, from small studios to large corporations. Whatever the project, the focus is the same: building visual languages that make complex ideas legible without losing their character. I teach at Parsons School of Design and Rutgers University, which keeps me attentive to communication itself — how ideas are explained, how audiences engage, and how clarity builds understanding and trust. My work focuses on creating systems that move from concept to real-world use, and I'm interested in how structure and expression can coexist: work that is clear and functional, yet still human and expressive.
Approach →
Approach ↓
Approach ↓
Good design systems start with context. Before anything visual, I want to understand the audience, the constraints, the existing language, and where it breaks down. That understanding shapes everything that follows.
I work collaboratively and iteratively, moving between research, dialogue, and making — testing ideas before committing to them so problems surface when they're still easy to solve.
Detail matters throughout. Typography, hierarchy, pacing, rhythm — small decisions accumulate into either clarity or noise. A well-built system makes the right choice the easy one: reliable for everyday communication, yet expressive when the moment calls for it.
The goal is work that's precise and durable — not just visually considered, but genuinely useful to the people who inherit it.
Resume →
Resume ↓
Resume ↓
Work Experience
Fevkalade
Founding Partner and Director
2012—Present
The Atlantic
Senior Designer
2025
ISType
Co-organizer
2019—2022
Katalist
Graphic Designer
2007—2008
Teaching Experience
The New School
Parsons School of Design
2026—Present
Rutgers University
Mason Gross School of the Arts
2025—Present
Binghamton University (SUNY)
Department of Art and Design
2022—2024
Özyeğin University
Communication Design Department
2022
Sabancı University
Visual Arts & Visual Communication Design Department
2017—2018
Education
Sabancı University
MA in Visual Arts & Visual Communication Design
2011
Yeditepe University
BA in Visual Communication Design
2007
Services →
Services ↓
Services ↓
— Brand Identity
— Brand Guidelines
— Design Systems
— Digital
— Print/Editorial
— Type Design
— Packaging
— Environmental
— Motion Design
Contact & Links →
Contact & Links ↓
Contact & Links ↓
hello[at]emreparlak.com
Instagram ↗
LinkedIn ↗
