Emrah Yucel (born May 24, 1968), is a Turkish advertising and graphic designer based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, USA. He specialized in motion picture advertising as well as country and city branding. Yucel was born as the son of a screenwriter mother and a film director father. While his father was working for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

at the time, he began elementary school in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Those years influenced him to follow the path of a designer. After returning to Turkey, he continued his education and graduated from

Hacettepe University Hacettepe University () is a public research university in Ankara, Turkey. It was established on 8 July 1967. It is ranked first among the Turkish universities by University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2021. The university has two main c ...

. He subsequently received a master's degree in Art, Design and Architecture from

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

. He also began his professional career during those formative years, representing his country in international exhibitions, poster biennials, following with two "Designer of the Year" awards in the field of graphic design. In 1996, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he quickly established himself as a talented designer of corporate brands, posters for Broadway plays, and especially website designs during the infancy of the internet. Through a headhunter, he joined one of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

's powerhouse entertainment advertising agencies and moved to Los Angeles in 1999. As a senior art director, he created campaigns for several top feature films for Hollywood's major studios as well as designed other, highly visible domestic and international projects. He worked on many big box-office projects such as '' Mirror Mirror'', ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts action film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a group of assassins ( Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael ...

'', ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...

'', ''

Enemy at the Gates ''Enemy at the Gates'' (''Stalingrad'' in France and ''L'Ennemi aux portes'' in Canada) is a 2001 war film directed, co-written, and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on William Craig (author), William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book ''Enemy ...

'', '' Big Daddy'', ''The Numbers'', '' Shaft'', '' 28 Days'', etc... In 2001, he launched 'Iconisus Visual Communication Design' with his partner, an agency providing visual design, advertising, and branding services across a full spectrum of print, motion, interactive and other media. Under the umbrella of four different companies, he and his team promote a culture of creative exchange across different platforms. Emrah Yucel is also the founder of the ''Turkish Film Council'' (TFC), an organization bridging between the Turkish film industry and Hollywood. TFC lobbies to promote the Turkish film industry in the US. Council's bill preparation efforts led the Turkish parliament to pass incentives, attracting foreign filmmakers to use Turkey as a location (The International, starring

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

and

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. Known for her work predominantly in independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime ...

, shot by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey being one of them). With the new incentive law, Turkey joined the list of preferred countries. Concurrently, Yucel is developing several film projects. ''40'' is the first film of his career as producer. He was a member of the jury at the 2007 Antalya International Film Festival, and the 2008 Lucie Awards (awarded in the field of international photography). Among the awards he has are Key-Art Awards,

PromaxBDA awards The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy Awards (GEMA Awards; formerly known as the PromaxBDA Awards and the Promax Awards) are for entertainment marketing, promotion, and design by a company or individual that is broadcast, published, or release ...

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

, Sunset Billboard Award. In 2009, he and his team have been awarded the "Designer of the Year " title by International Design Awards. Most recently, the

United Nations World Tourism Organization The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

has deemed his campaign for Turkish Tourism as the best 'country advertising' in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Yucel currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Awards

201

Gold American Horror Story, Outdoor-Static Campaign Agency: Iconisus - Emrah Yucel & Stephan Lapp *PromaxBDA Award

References

External links

*Emrah Yucel http://www.emrahyucel.com *
Interview with Yucel
BAK (magazine), BAK Magazine
Emrah Yücel sets his mind on getting Turkish cinema into Hollywood 26 May 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yucel, Emrah Living people 1968 births Film poster artists Hacettepe University alumni Bilkent University alumni Artists from New York City