AYSE DESIGNZ ® / Blog

3 OF MY BEST YEARS.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:03:00 -0400

Yesterday me and Ana celebrated our 3rd year together as two love birds.
I could stay here all day talking about my love for her. But I bet you don’t want to read the love bible.

I’m just going to say that she’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m in love with her and her smile since the first day we meet in school, 9 years ago.

I took the day off and we went to one of the best gardens/ art museum in our town, Serralves. It’s been a few years since my first time there.
Here’s a couple of pictures from that afternoon.

The famous Coosje Van Bruggen Plantoir by Claes Oldenburg.

Ah! I guess I’m not the only one who’s “always on the iPhone”.

Ana caught in action, Instagramin’.

After this we went out for a nice dinner. No food pics, as we were exhausted and starving. We just wanted to shove food into our mouths.

ENCHUFADA NA CASA!

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:48:00 -0400

Enchufada burned the house down. Words can not describe it. Amazing vibe last Saturday night at the beautiful Casa da Música.

It was my second time watching Buraka Som Sistema, first time with the new album concert. This guys never disappoint, their stage energy is great, they really know how to rock a crowd. It’s really great seeing a Portuguese band succeed and touring world wide, being recognised by super talented international artists. I wish them the best.

Saddly I couldn’t listen to DJ Marfox, unfortunately his set was at the same time as Buraka’s. Hope I can see him again in Porto soon.

But the night wasn’t over, Branko (former J-Wow) was about to hit the decks at the bar. And if you know anything about him, you know that he is always packed with some heat.

It was also my second time listening to him live, first time was at Plano B, were I met him and we briefly talked business about the MySpace I was going to design for him at the time. Definitely one of the smartest clients I had the pleasure to work with, really down to hearth guy, that knows what he wants.

Back to that Saturday night. Man, Branko killed it. I wasn’t expecting nothing else. Great music selection, great energy. Branko, if you’re reading this, please come back soon.

I left the building with a huge smile on my face, so did Ana and all my friends.

We need a monthly Enchufada night in Porto. Maybe my prayers will be heard.

After that powerful night, Sunday was all about a couple of beers by the beach with some friends.

BOAT RIDE

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:28:00 -0400

Me and Ana got my grandparents a boat ride on our city river as a Christmas present this last Christmas.
Turns out my grandmother is afraid of riding boats. Guess who’s not getting any Christmas presents this year? Yeah…

So, she kindly said we could go instead of them. We didn’t mind at all since we never road it before.

Today was a beautiful spring day outside so we decided on taking advantage of it.
We looked like two tourist on our own home town, it was pretty cool.

Hope you enjoy the photos. And if you ever want to visit our town, email me, we gladly show you around.

And we were off!

In the end of the trip they offered us a glass of Port Wine. Ana was all over it. :)

Two hours later I was back at my desk and back to work.

WEEKEND OFF.

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:24:00 -0400

It’s been a while since my last blog post, I’ve been busy as hell, like always. If you’re following me on Facebook or Twitter you know what I’m talking about.

So here’s a little blog post for you.

I worked my ass off this week, so I decided to go slow on the weekend and just enjoy the nice weather that came with spring, it was a perfect day to take the new car for a ride.

Saturday, me and Ana went to the beach for a walk, it felt amazing. It has been a while since I was at the beach and I live 10 minutes away from it. After that we went for a little romantic dinner and met some friends afterwords.

2am I left the lady at our home and made a visit to some friends and clients at Porto’s Therapy Sessions.
The place was chaotic, so many people, insanely hot, but they didn’t seem to mind. True heavy beats fans there.

Sunday bumday, we met with some friends after a family lunch and went to the beach, again.

I was to lazy to take my DSLR with me these days, so enjoy the iPhone / Instagram pictures.

ORELHA NEGRA @ HARDCLUB

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:01:00 -0400

Lately looks like I’ve been running a music blog with all the music related posts, but truth is, music has always been a big part of my life and a huge inspiration.

Last night, me, Ana and a few friends went to Orelha Negra concert at Hard Club. I don’t have much to say about it as they took my words away.
It was the first time I saw them live and they not only took my words, they also took my brain for a ride.

Great energy, they sound amazingly good live, I’m proud they are Portuguese and they’re so successful.
Can’t wait for the next time they’re in town, I’ll be there head first.

If you don’t know who I’m talking about, were have you been? Go buy all their stuff and thank me later.

Also, huge thanks to Carolina for hocking us with some free tickets yesterday.

PS: You’ll have to deal with the iPhone pics, I didn’t want to drag my DSLR to this.

A few weeks ago I found out that ESMAE, a college in Porto, has a Jazz Jam Session every Tuesday...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:53:00 -0400

A few weeks ago I found out that ESMAE, a college in Porto, has a Jazz Jam Session every Tuesday night from 10.30 pm to 2 am.
These sessions are organised by the school students and everybody is invited. Oh, did I forget to mention that the entry is free?

When me and Ana went there for the first time, we didn’t knew quite well what we were getting into, but when we got there and sat down we were immediately hocked on it.

The environment is great, there’s a bunch of different people with one thing in common, the love for music.
Everybody is watching and listening carefully to these students jam live for a few hours. Every once in a while they switch instruments, new people join the jam, new music is created on the spot.
Some students are ‘locals’ at these jams but every session is different from the week before.

Yesterday it was Fathers Day in Portugal, so me and Ana grabbed our parents and we took them there as a little surprise and they loved it.

I might need to make these Tuesdays Jam Sessions thing into my weekly routine.

THE BLACK MAMBA @ HARDCLUB

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:32:00 -0400

This past Saturday I had the pleasure to listen live to one of my new favourite Portuguese bands, The Black Mamba.
A soul and blues band that started in 2010, with a first, but very powerful, record already published.

I got introduced to their music by my uncle and I was automatically into their sound and vibe. And this past weekend my love and consideration for their music grew up even more.

They sound unbelievable live, their performance is amazing. Huge energy in that crowded room, people were dancing, clapping, smiling…

I’ll leave you with a few pictures that I shot that night, a small selection of my favourites. Let me just say that I’m not a photographer and I don’t claim to be one, so you photographers out there please bare with me.

You can also listen to a couple of their music videos after the jump.

AYSE @ ESAD

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:11:00 -0500

It feels like yesterday when I decided to don’t go to college and start freelance, this was a big decision and I didn’t thought about it twice, I was pretty sure thats what I wanted to do.
What I didn’t knew is that 6 years later I was going to be speaking at one.

Last month I got invited to speak to a 3rd Year Communication Design Class in ESAD, which is, in my opinion, one of the best colleges in Portugal.

This all started when Diogo, a student, decided to do a presentation about me and my works. He contacted me a few months ago and I was flattered about it.
I got to meet him in ESAD one day and I gave him a few works and posters so he could use them in his presentation.

His teacher got to know me and my work trough his presentation and wanted to see me in person so we could talk about the opportunity of me going to the school to talk to her class.

Once I got this news I was beyond excited!

My visit there had the intention to show to her students my passion, my works, my freelance story, how did I made it without a college degree, if I had some hard times and if possible give them some inspiration and positivism.

With the few time I had I grabbed a few works, t-shirts, flyers and a couple images and did the best I could. It was my first time doing this so I was a bit nervous I won’t lie.

I got to answer a lot of questions that the students and the teacher had. I hope I gave them a bit of inspiration, rather than just two hours of pure boredom.

It was a great experience, I would love to do this again. It’s great to being able to inspire people.

I would like to say thanks to Prof. Ana, Diogo and everybody that showed up once again for everything.

Valentines Day Walk

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 15:09:00 -0500

I had to take a day off on Valentines day or my girlfriend would cut my head off. We went on a little tourist walk around our city, holding hands like two love birds. :)

It was a fun day. Here’s a few shoots I took with my iPhone.

THERAPY SESSIONS PRINT

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:12:31 -0500

Did you like the last print I released? Then I hope you like this one too!

This one is also limited to 50 pieces and it’s also signed and numbered.
It’s digitally printed on 185gr Poster Plus Matte paper and it’s shipped in a tube.
Price: 10 Euros ($13 USD / £8 GBP) plus shipping.

My store is still down for me, so if you want one, email me at ayse@aysedesignz.com

Check the detail pics bellow.

NEW PRINT

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:29:07 -0500

LOVE LIFE - WORK HARD - DO GOOD - STAY POSITIVE

That’s my motto and my new limited edition print.
Hope you like as much as I do and you can identify with it.

The print is limited to 50 pieces and it’s signed and numbered.
It’s digitally printed on 185gr Poster Plus Matte paper and it’s shipped in a tube.

I’m selling it at a cheap price so all of you can snag one :) 10 Euros ($13 USD / £8 GBP) each plus shipping.

Check the images bellow for the print details.

My store is acting crazy at the moment so if you want to grab one of these email me at ayse@aysedesignz.com

Drawing Dungeon.

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:59:00 -0400

My corner for the rest of the night. I missed working at night.

PS: Follow me on Instagram, over at: ‘aysedesignz’, for more behind the scenes of my work/life.

BACK TO WORK!

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:48:16 -0400

I’m back to the grind.
Had a great time on my vacations, got to relax and enjoy the sun.

Here’s a couple pictures I snapped with my iPhone. I have more on my camera, I’ll upload them soon.

Call me crazy, but I was missed my work. :)

SEE YOU SOON.

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:32:42 -0400

Friends and Flashes.

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:15:00 -0400

I bought some new equipment for my Canon 550D, and this past weekend I had some fun shooting flashes into my friends faces.

My friends share this space where they hangout everyday after work, college, etc.
I can only pay them a visit once or twice a week since I’m always working in the studio.

These are some of my best friends and I can said that proudly. I know some of these guys for more than 10 years now. Let me introduce you to the weirdos.

Follow me upstairs.

I don’t consider myself a photographer, at all. I just like photography and I like to have fun with it.

Here are some of my favorite shots from that weekend, starting by my top favorite of my friend LOW, the most down to earth and smartest guy I know.

I told you they were weirdos.

Apple fanboys and girls.

Here’s my best friend Paulo, we know each other and been friends since we were 6 years old, that’s 17 years of friendship right there. I’m an only child but I consider this guy my brother.

My lady and Catarina.

Carolina. I think her cat looks like her.

My mate Fragz. He’s a Drum&Bass Producer and DJ, he makes girls go wild.
I made a couple works for him, you can find them in my Portfolio.

Look at that fearless look. It’s my bodyguard, Claúdio.
Jiu jitsu fighter from Evolution Fight Team Portugal. Don’t mess with him, or I might do something.

Daniel aka Wingsu88 the number one video game and anime geek. If you want some spoilers, google him.

Emotional Vitor. ;)

Heeeeere’s Joca.

The three stooges. Low, Guedes and Leandro.

Fragz in the zone.

The studio. That’s Dubout, he’s a Dubstep/UK Bass Producer and DJ.

My man Dosk from DOGZUNITED. He’s also a Drum&Bass and Electro DJ. Lot’s of DJs and Producers around here.

Chug chug chug.

Leandro and his lady Andreia.

Now that I’m better equipped, you can expect more blogs in the future, I hope. Eh!

See you next time,
Ayse

New Toy

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:07:00 -0400

Last week I bought a new toy for the studio, the Wacom Intuos 5 Large.
I’m still getting used to it, but I’m really enjoying the features and the gestures.
One thing’s for sure, on some works it saves me a lot of time.

IN THE STREETS

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:22:00 -0400

The other day I caught a poster design I did for a client up in the walls.
It’s not the first time my work wanders the streets, but lately I’ve been asked for more flyer designs than posters.

It’s always nice to see them up there.

March is done.

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:25:18 -0400

March was my best month of 2012, so far. April, bring it!!

Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:06:57 -0400

This just came in the mail.

Charles Bradley aka “The Screaming Eagle of Soul” is a soul singer with an amazing voice.

I found about him and his music on twitter and when I listened to his first song, it gave me chills.

Homeless at the age of 14 and living in the streets of New york, Charles always had a dream: becoming a singer and releasing is own album. At the age of 62 he made is dream come true.
It’s stories like these that really say: “Never give up and fight for what you want! Follow your dreams!”

I leave you with his documentary trailer bellow. It’s worth checking out.

NEW SOFA!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:03:57 -0500

Every day that goes by, our place feels more and more like home.

Our living-room sofa arrived today and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
Tonight we are going to celebrate with some wine, popcorn and a movie. It can’t get better than that.

Me and Ana are beyond happy with our “new” life, everything is going great so far.
I’ll be updating the blog, stay tuned.

Have a nice day,
Ayse