After a day of endless brainstorming, we wrapped it up with, “Our logo needs to have a story.” It had to convey our narrative and capture our style. After some amateur efforts, we all agreed it was best to leave it to a professional.

One of my most cherished students, Gökçe, whom I’ve treasured for years, came to my rescue like a saviour. Her words, ending with “With pleasure,” brought tears to my eyes.

When Gökçe said, “She should think about the brand identity before jumping into the logo design, crafting a suitable story, and making sure the logo is unique, distinctive, and tailored to us,” I was filled with pride once more, as I have been for years, for having students who share the same language and mindset as me. Colours, icons, symbols, brand keywords, goals… Every detail was reviewed and discussed thoroughly. Despite her busy schedule with classes and exams, she found time to create a ready-to-go logo in just a week—perfectly capturing who we are and our unique style. “Journey Beyond Borders with NextGen Academy”.

We have the most amazing gift from my sweetheart, Gökçe, whose life I have impacted from kindergarten through high school and even now in university. Following my words, “Thank you for your effort, dear Gökçe,” I found myself thinking, “I’m truly blessed to have such amazing students.” She modestly said, “How could I not, teacher? After everything you’ve done for us, this is the least I can do.”

Dear Gökçe, whose life I was able to touch from kindergarten to the last year of high school and even now at university, gave us the most beautiful gift. The sentences that followed my sentence “Thank you Gökçe” made me say “I am glad I have such beautiful children” once again. “Yes, teacher, anytime, it is not enough after all your efforts for us”.

GÖKÇE AKER
Bilkent University
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture
Department of Communication and Design