Broadcast environments. Spatial experiences.

About Esra Akbulut

Esra Akbulut is a Turkish stage and spatial designer with more than two decades of experience in broadcast design, television studios, live events and cultural environments.

Born in Ankara in 1977, she graduated with honors from the Anatolian Fine Arts High School in 1994. She later achieved the highest score in the Special Aptitude Examination of Hacettepe University’s Faculty of Fine Arts and graduated from the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design in 1999.

Between 2002 and 2006, Esra worked as a Stage Designer in the Artistic Department of TRT, Turkey’s national public broadcaster. Following Türkiye’s victory in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest with Sertab Erener, she won the design competition for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest Final in Istanbul. Her design was inspired by the symbolic meaning of the dome and reflected ideas of inclusivity, unity and cultural depth.

From 2006 to 2011, she managed the Studio Design Department as Chief Designer at Doğan TV, working for leading Turkish channels including Kanal D, Star TV and CNN Türk. During this period, she consulted for CNN Türk Studios in collaboration with CNN International and Blackwalnut in New York, and collaborated with designers from Rai TV for talk show and entertainment studio projects.

In 2011, Esra co-founded Setup Studios and continued designing for public and private television channels across Türkiye. She founded Sette Sette Design in Istanbul and has since developed international projects combining creative direction, spatial design, production and realization.

Her later collaborations include Show TV, Al Araby Studios in Doha, Tunisia TV Studios in cooperation with Media Up and France 24 Academy, and the European Union-supported Programme d’Appui aux Médias en Tunisie.

In 2022, she designed and realized the Türkiye Pavilions for Taste of Paris at the Grand Palais and the Cannes Film Festival, together with the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency.

About Sette Sette Design

Sette Sette Design is an Istanbul-based design and production studio founded by Esra Akbulut. The studio specializes in broadcast environments, television studios, TV sets, spatial design, event environments and cultural installations.

Working across Türkiye and internationally, Sette Sette Design collaborates with television channels, production companies, event agencies, theatres, institutions and private organizations. Each project is developed from concept to realization, combining creative direction, architectural thinking, technical planning and production expertise.

The studio’s team includes designers, implementers, installers and technical specialists who work closely with clients to understand their goals and create solutions tailored to each project.

From television studios and entertainment formats to national pavilions, exhibitions and live environments, Sette Sette Design delivers visually distinctive, technically resolved and fully realized spaces.

Design. Production. Realization.