A graphic design examination of visuals effective on the promotion of the city within the context of brand city: Practical example of Gaziantep promotion

Trends in brand city studies, which are within the scope of other disciplines such as marketing, psychology, design and anthropology, have changed in recent years. While the cities where human-oriented brand city design and brand city communication models are applied are prosperous, cities that ignore this model are at the bottom of the global rankings. Kavaratzis' human-oriented brand city study and visual message analysis method and the suitability of brand city study for Gaziantep promotion were discussed in this study. As a result of situation determination and semiotic analysis methods, it was determined that Gaziantep brand city studies were successful, but there were deficiencies in practice. As a result of this study, solution suggestions were presented for the implementation of Gaziantep brand city study. Keywords: brand cities, brand city communication, Gaziantep, city identity