Sami Bakırcı

I help Canva speak to Türkiye. As its Country Localisation Partner in Istanbul, I shape the strategy, campaigns and culture that make a global brand feel like it was born here. Before that I spent almost five years at Pexels, growing a small circle of Turkish photographers into its largest community in the world, then leading the region across EMEA.

I started out as a mechanical engineer on Istanbul’s driverless M7 metro line. Engineers build roads to somewhere; marketers build roads to hearts. I’ve walked both. When I’m not working, I’m chasing light with a camera and trying to convince it that it’s a philosopher.

I was born in Istanbul. My family’s roots are in Rize, on the Black Sea coast, where my grandparents made their living farming tea. So yes, I drink a lot of it. When I do, it feels like sipping on the dreams of my ancestors.

I picked up photography in 2013 at a language school in Bristol, mostly to keep my memories in higher resolution. Student exchanges took me to Sheffield and Frankfurt, and I noticed that wherever I went, a camera was the easiest way to make new friends. It still is. My photos on Pexels have now been viewed more than 149 million times.

After four years in mechanical engineering, including looking after the platform screen doors on Istanbul’s M7, a fully driverless metro line, I changed lanes. International marketing at ISBAK came first, then business development and corporate innovation at Softtech.

In 2021 I helped launch Pexels in Türkiye. What started as a small circle of creators became the largest Pexels community in the world and put Turkish photography on the global map. From 2023 I led the region across EMEA, with photowalks, meetups and campaigns from Istanbul to Berlin to Cape Town. I started as a user and somehow ended up helping shape the community that once inspired me.

Since 2021 I’ve also written Turkish and UK English copy for Canva’s template library, with a little wit and local color in every line. In late 2025 I joined Canva as its Country Localisation Partner for Türkiye. Our first brand campaign, Bunu Nasıl Yaptın?, won four Kristal Elma awards, Türkiye’s most prestigious advertising prize. The bigger prize was what we learned, and the bonds we built with each other and with the people we make it for.

Outside work: football, electronic music, books, and long conversations about the history of civilizations and why some countries grow rich. I’ve worked with Canva for five years now, and it still feels like I’ve just arrived. Still arriving, always arriving.