{"id":40472,"date":"2025-06-26T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muse.international\/?p=40472"},"modified":"2025-06-23T03:02:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T03:02:50","slug":"doga-bircan-talks-about-designing-anka-with-care-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/doga-bircan-talks-about-designing-anka-with-care-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Doga Bircan Talks About Designing ANKA with Care and Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Doga Bircan of Doga Bircan LLC is a designer, storyteller, and advocate for good, known for blending purpose with craft to build mission-driven, people-centered brand experiences that leave lasting impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q1. Congratulations on winning the MUSE Design Awards! Can you introduce yourself and share about what inspired you to pursue design as a career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m Doga (pronounced doe-ah<\/em>) \u2014 a designer, storyteller, maker, thinker, and an advocate for good, passionate about creating change for the better. Originally from Istanbul, I\u2019m now based in NYC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been drawn to creating since childhood\u2014drawing, sewing, collaging, crafting, and storytelling. I began my professional journey in industrial design and later became a self-taught graphic designer. After working in Istanbul for two years, I moved to New York to pursue a master\u2019s degree through the renowned MFA Design program at the School of Visual Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I\u2019m an award-winning graphic and brand designer dedicated to building mission-driven, impact-focused, and people-centered brands and experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q2. What does being recognized in the MUSE Design Awards mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned about the MUSE Creative Awards through my friends at SVA MFA Design\u2014we had submitted a team project back then. So I\u2019m familiar with how influential the MUSE Awards are. That\u2019s why I wanted to submit ANKA<\/em>\u2014not just to share my work, but also to raise awareness of play as a tool for rebuilding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q3. Can you share the story behind your success? What inspired its creation, and what do you feel it represents in today\u2019s industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ANKA came to life after the deadly earthquakes that struck T\u00fcrkiye in 2023. As I witnessed the destruction of my home country, I noticed a gap in existing disaster relief efforts\u2014displaced children lacked any positive distraction from the initial trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many were stuck in a negative cycle of rumination, which can lead to PTSD, and had no tools to break free from it. So, I created ANKA as a conceptual organization to integrate play into disaster relief, because play is a vital tool for exploring and expressing emotions\u2014and for breaking the cycle of rumination. In today\u2019s world, ANKA can also support displaced children in war zones, refugee camps, and other crisis situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q4. What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to believe that the balance between playfulness and seriousness, childlike thinking and adult-like approach, conceptual exploration and real-world strategy is what sets ANKA apart. Of course, you\u2019d have to ask the judges as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q5. What’s the most unusual source of inspiration you’ve ever drawn from for a project?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though I had a lot of experience with user testing from my industrial design background, I struggled to find children aged 5\u20139 who could participate in a free play test\u2014and to convince their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t know anyone in the city, had no relatives with kids, and didn\u2019t have permission to access schools for testing the play sets. In the end, I manufactured many prototypes and shipped most of them to T\u00fcrkiye. A few of my teachers from SVA MFA Design also had relatives who were willing to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winning Entry <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ANKA<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore the journey of Yachan Yuan<\/a>, the Gold Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards. She\u2019s a visual effects artist and designer at Framestore, crafting surreal and emotionally resonant visuals for global names like Apple, Toyota, and the Oscars.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Doga Bircan of Doga Bircan LLC is a designer, storyteller, and advocate for good, known for blending purpose with craft to build mission-driven, people-centered brand experiences [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":40481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,372,553,397],"tags":[9,12,382],"yoast_head":"\nDoga Bircan Talks About Designing ANKA with Care and Purpose<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Winner interview with Doga Bircan for ANKA from the United States, the Gold Winner of the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/doga-bircan-talks-about-designing-anka-with-care-and-purpose\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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