Young designer of hope playgrounds

Ezgi Yelekoğlu Baylan, a graduate of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Department of Industrial Design, who turned her passion for design into a profession, which started at a young age, did not forget the children who did not have toys and could not go to the playground. IUE designer Baylan became a source of happiness and energy for children in Kars and Gaziantep by designing playgrounds, which are kilometers away, with the 'Umut Parkı (Hope Playground)' project. Baylan said, “All children are very precious to me. All children with or without mental or physical disabilities should take the same pleasure in playgrounds. All my effort is for this. I love my job.”

Ezgi Yelekoğlu Baylan's (31) interest in design started in her childhood years. The handicrafts made by her mother, who was a housewife, attracted her attention at a very young age. Her favorite activity was to help her mother create designs from various materials and to set up games for herself. Over time, this curiosity turned into a passion. Baylan decided to pursue her career in this field during her high school years.

SHE BECAME A MANAGER

In 2008, she enrolled in the Department of Industrial Design, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at Izmir University of Economics. After graduating in 2013, she started working as an industrial designer in a private company. Here, a project she prepared with Altuğ Toprak, a graduate of Izmir University of Economics, won the first prize in the industrial design competition. She received a scholarship abroad from the Ministry of Economy and completed her master's degree in Milan, Italy. After returning to Turkey, she quickly climbed the career ladder and became a manager in the company she worked for.

IT HAS BECOME MORE MEANINGFUL AFTER I BECAME A MOTHER

Working as the design center manager of the company named 'Cemer Kent Ekipmanları', which creates fun and healthy spaces for children, youth, adults and disabled citizens with the slogan "From Dream to Reality", Baylan currently designs colorful playgrounds for children. Stating that her childhood dream brought her to this point, Baylan said, “I now design the toys that I designed for myself when I was little, for all children. All children are very precious to me. All children with or without mental or physical disabilities should take the same pleasure in playgrounds. All my effort is for this. I love my job. Appealing to children is very important to me. I have a 2-year-old daughter, after I became a mother, designing a playground became more meaningful to me.”

4-5 PLAYGROUNDS EVERY YEAR

Stating that she works in the social responsibility project called ‘Umut Parkı (Hope Playground)’ carried out in cooperation with the Sosyalben Foundation and Cemer, Baylan continued as follows: “We try to reach every child who cannot reach the playground. We are building playgrounds in villages in the East. So far, we have opened playgrounds in Kars and Gaziantep. We will open our third playground at the end of this month. Our goal is to activate 4-5 playgrounds every year. It is very valuable for me to take part in this project and design for children. Playing games is the right of every child, I am ready to do my best for this.”