Many of the artists within the palace ateliers were called nakkaş, or designer. The designs were used in various ways across all the arts ranging from books, calligraphy, carpets, tiles, ceramics, woodwork and stonework; thus uniformity of designs and motifs was attained in different materials such as metal, wood and stone.
Designs were also used outside the palace, such as in the tile ateliers of İznik, and in the carpet-weaving workshops of Uşak; the goods were then sold within the empire or exported.