Ayşegül Bıldırçin, a student of Istanbul Gelisim University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphic Design, has been granted support under the TÜBİTAK 2209-A Research Project Support Program for Undergraduate Students for her educational card game project “Brainy Kids”, which was developed to support children’s cognitive development. Supervised by Lecturer İrem Fulya Özkan from the Department of Graphic Design, the project highlights the educational function of graphic design and serves as a strong example of creative solutions emerging from the collaboration of art and science.
A Play-Based Approach to Cognitive Development
Ayşegül Bıldırçin summarizes the starting point of her project as follows:
"My project 'Brainy Kids' was designed as a fun and educational card game aimed at supporting children's cognitive development. Through game mechanics tailored to different age groups, I aimed to support skills such as attention, memory, problem-solving, and language development in children."
Maintaining pedagogical accuracy while ensuring an enjoyable experience for children was the top priority throughout the design process. Bıldırçin explained that by conducting target audience analysis and simplifying the content, she was able to overcome many challenges. She also emphasized how instructive the TÜBİTAK application process itself was.
Academic Support and Creative Guidance
Project advisor Lecturer İrem Fulya Özkan highlighted that “Brainy Kids” sets a strong example in both the fields of graphic design and education, stating:
"Ayşegül’s project turned out to be a highly creative and powerful work demonstrating how graphic design can integrate with educational tools. In the visual design of the game, many factors were taken into consideration — not only aesthetics but also pedagogy and user experience."
Contribution to Professional Development and Socially Beneficial Design
Thanks to this experience, Bıldırçin realized that graphic design is not only about visuals but can also serve as a communication tool that benefits society. She expressed her desire to be more involved in socially oriented projects in the future.
TÜBİTAK Support for Art and Design Students
Ayşegül Bıldırçin noted that scientific support programs like TÜBİTAK provide great motivation for art and design students. She emphasized that such programs enable creative projects to be developed on a scientific foundation.
We sincerely thank our student Ayşegül Bıldırçin and her academic advisor Lecturer İrem Fulya Özkan for their valuable contributions.
