Özlem Yalım

Born in Ankara, Özlem Yalım graduated from METU Industrial Design (BSc) in 1995. She is living and working in Istanbul.

Yalım has worked across product design, spatial design, exhibition design, brand strategy, corporate communications, and creative industries. After co-founding Kilit Taşı Mimarlık, she held senior roles at Terminal Design, Adressistanbul and Koleksiyon, focusing on project management, product development, design and brand direction.

In 2009, she proposed the idea of the Istanbul Design Biennial to İKSV and later realised it as Biennial Director between 2010 and 2012. She left her role as Biennial Director in 2013 and İKSV in 2014, where she had continued to work on special projects and consultancy for BE.

She appeared on NTV’s Türk Mucit in 2007 and was named among “Turkey’s 50 Most Creative People” by TurkishTime in 2011 and 2012.

Between 2015 and 2025, she served as Strategic Brand Director at TEPTA Lighting, working with nearly 100 global brands and leading strategic positioning, international brand communication, corporate structuring, digitalization, communications, and sponsorship relations.

In 2025, she founded Vanguardis Strategy and Design, where she provides consultancy in brand strategy, corporate communications, marketing communications, design, and product development.

Since 2017, her articles on creative industries have appeared in Cumhuriyet Pazar, T24, Gazete Pencere and Gazete Duvar. Yalim currently writes weekly at Medyascope and at Cumhuriyet.