UAL Design / Concept project
An imagined restaurant world I built from Istanbul, the sea and the art of ceramic tile.
Explore the story
It all began with a single question: can the memory of Istanbul fit on one table? Nazende is my answer — an imagined brand universe I built from end to end, with its story, identity, interior and menu.
I described the idea, the concept, the reference images and every step of the brand to AI one by one, turning it into an assistant working for me. Fed with my own illustrations, that assistant became the greatest help in building everything from the brand figures to the porcelain collection and the Istanbul-view interior.
I generated the interior, the table, the product scenes and the plate illustrations with AI. From everything produced, I kept only what belonged to the same visual world, and brought it all together in one atmosphere — the late-afternoon light of Nazende.
No frame left the AI and entered the page as it was. I refined the compositions in Photoshop, carried the linework into vector in Illustrator, and built the menu’s page layout in InDesign. The details were completed at this table.
GPT Sol · GPT Astra · Claude Opus 5.5
Adobe Photoshop · Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign
How can a fish restaurant’s identity tell its story before a guest even takes a seat?
I imagined Nazende on the Üsküdar shore, directly across from the Maiden’s Tower: a fish restaurant positioned in the upper-mid segment, its windows opening onto the city’s oldest tale. It draws its inspiration from the Ottoman tile tradition, Istanbul’s maritime culture and the legend of the Maiden’s Tower.
I reinterpreted this deep-rooted heritage through the principles of modern branding. From the interior design to the logo and corporate identity, I carried one story without interruption; I shaped the illustrations with AI and reflected this language onto every detail of the space — the plate sets, the table arrangements, the pages of the menu.
Nazende has no physical restaurant. I generated the interior, table and product imagery with AI, guided by my own reference illustrations. These images make the experience I imagined visible: a world that hosts the city’s old tale at today’s table.
Translate cultural richness into an elegant, coherent identity.
Bring the city’s associations into distinctive figures and tangible brand touchpoints.
A brand world extending from the first encounter to the menu’s final page.
A mythical mermaid and fish, a compass star and waves. The primary logo carries the layered story; simpler monograms adapt it to smaller touchpoints.
EXPLORE THE LOGO SYSTEM
The mermaid-and-fish emblem joins the Nazende name and “Balık Restoranı” descriptor. Together, they form the primary brand logo.
PRIMARY COLOURS
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ACCENT TONES
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THREE VOICES, ONE IDENTITY
Character in headlines. Elegance in storytelling. Clarity in information.
Short headlines and strong statements
Editorial storytelling and elegant emphasis
Interface, descriptions and supporting information
01 / PRIMARY LOGO ANIMATION
A figure born from the wave.
02 / LOGOTYPE ANIMATION
From the first stroke to the final curve.
03 / MONOGRAM ANIMATION
The first light of the compass star.
The ceramic motifs developed with AI were interpreted in line with the concept and created anew. Ceramic and marine figures refined through reference drawings were worked into the plates, the borders within the space, the textiles and the objects that complete the interior. The motif language inherited from Ottoman tile art was reinterpreted as a cultural heritage and translated into the language of today’s table. The transformed illustration thus moved beyond decoration and became part of the space’s visual language.
The tulip, the leading motif of Ottoman tile art, is interpreted as the carrier of the brand’s elegance. Its symmetrical rhythm is designed for napkins, table linens and the welcome area. Quiet white surfaces give the rich motif room to breathe.
The meanings I give to these motifs are my own interpretations for this project.
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6 images shown.
I worked this space, born of my imagination, until it carried the feeling of a real photo shoot. For this I used GPT Astra and Photoshop — and reached the result faster than I expected. As wide, airy windows open to the sea, linen napkins on the tables, greenery in the shade of the arches and ceramic surfaces softening in the late-afternoon light lift the spirit. The plate illustrations, the ceramic patterns and the atmosphere of the space meet within the same dream; the tradition of the past mingles with life through the rules and rhythm of the modern world.
Candlelight and sunset soften the depth of navy blue.
Ceramic, fabric and paper carry one visual language through different textures.
The seafood and table compositions I generated with AI complete the dining experience I imagined.
NAZENDE / BRAND WORLD
Identity, story and experience at one table.