Let’s start this interview with some words about you. As you told us, you achieved the best grade in geometry art class. Can you tell us more about your passion for design ?
Yes! In 5th grade, I will always remember it very fondly, because our adult life is very influenced and connected by what happens in our youth, in my opinion. My passion for design is in everything I look at, a building, colors, spaces, figures… I look at it as a whole. It’s present in almost anything in our lives, from commercials to a simple lettering. What makes me love it is the project behind it and achieving the final goal, it’s like a conquer.
Since you can remember, you have a special link to electronic music. When you were young, you went to a market with your mom to buy a monthly audio tape of dance music. How did your love for electronic music come to life and how did it evolve ?
It’s one of my best memories growing up. Well, on the radio my parents always listened to Rock and Blues music from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s band like The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, B. B. King and so on…Which I still listen to today and love it.
Electronic Music was a different way of evolving, It was an automatically connection to the beat it presented the first time I listened to it and it was probably a more commercial part of electronic music that I started to listen to, but the composition and pieces were all there, back then it was difficult in Portugal to have access to things that were considered different Like Techno, House, Electro… But when I was around 12 years old with the boom of Internet I started to discover Djs Like Dj Vibe, Carl Cox, Tenaglia that were booming at the time and introduced me to Frankie Knuckles, Laurent Garnier, Theo Parrish, Ben Klock, Basic Channel, Marshall Jefferson, Jeff Mills and so on…
In 2012 you went for the first time to an electronic music festival. It was Neopop. Can you describe what your feelings were during that edition ?
It was incredible, back then people went to festivals because the line up was good, because they identified with that ambience… It was the opportunity to listen to a handful of incredible Djs in an event focusing only onc techno or house, going through its different aspects… The location of the festival is way up in the North of Portugal in a city called Viana do Castelo. It takes place at Forte de Santiago da Barra. I will never forget any festivals or concerts I have been to, music is a huge part of my life.
A significant turning point in your life as an artist was initiated by a friend, Diego Ortiz, who pushed you to present your work to the world and try to get clients that would see the same passion in geometric art as you. So what was supposed to be just a "fun" thing, turned out to be a huge part of your life, right ?
Exactly, he encouraged me to really go out there and present what I was doing. At the time I was already doing some original stuff, but I was also doing a mix of collage and textures, I was trying out all the possible come outs and what could be done in terms of the final Design Artwork, I wanted to try out all different perspectives, but the main goal was that it still had to have geometry as it mainly influence and form.
On your website midstudio.pt, we discover that you ‘help transform brands and businesses through carefully crafted design and rigorous strategic thinking’. Can you tell us more about how you approach your customer’s requests and how you develop the strategic thinking associated with them ?
It’s like layers… Even before the design starts. First layer is to have a relaxed approach with the client, try to figure out what the intention of the outcome will be. I focus on the variables that will influence the long-term success of the client and his project. What works, what doesn’t work, if the intention is to have something more complex or more simple, if the project is going to be more bright or dark… All projects need to have the right strategy, some people don’t appreciate it or don’t care due to cost control but in the long run it will make a difference in everything.
Minimal art is the main influence in all your projects. In three words, it’s simple, objective and catchy. How do you handle the different formats you work on, like t-shirts, posters, vinyl, digital covers, websites amongst others ?
They are all related, no doubt about that. For example, if i’m designing for a Apparel it’s important that I come out with something people are going to feel good about wearing it, I try to keep it simple to the maximum, personally I don’t think a design on a T-shirt should be very complex and too much fulfilled…
If I’m working on vinyl I always take in consideration and design something that will look good while rotating. something that fills the space in a unique way. Websites should be interactive and modern, a clean feel.
Let’s deep dive into the vinyls as this is directly linked to what contributed to the emergence of electronic music until nowadays. You have done plenty of awesome vinyl designs that are displayed on your online portfolio. How do you find your inspiration and at what point do you decide that your design is ready to see the world ?
I always ask to listen to the tracks of the release first. It’s important to know the artist and the feeling he is trying to pass on with the music. I try to find a connection between the music, label and design. Sometimes it’s not easy, I have to design 2, 3, 4 times before achieving something that I think it’s ideal… But I love doing it, that’s what makes it fun and interesting. There’s some elements that need to be always present: circles, squares, triangles… From there it's a blank page…
Now let’s jump to another interesting format, the website. You recently fulfilled the design of Yama Music’s website, which looks really great by the way. We can directly feel your minimalistic approach. Is this a way for you to express your creativity in a more interactive way ?
Yes, for sure. Actually, designing websites is something that has given me an incredible feeling of fulfillment and I think all projects nowadays should consider having one. I look at it as an introduction on the internet, like an identity, it’s like your logo… In a simple url you will give anyone all the insight they are looking for about your project in a very compact way.
You recently started working with Touch Designer, a motion design software that opens the doors to more creativity. Can you tell us more about your future projects ?
I have been presenting it to clients that have been working with me for a long time and the response has been really good. Touch Designer it's like a galaxy… Infinite options, it takes some time to get around it but when you do it’s mind blowing. The idea is to bring the Elements to life in a unique way and give a dynamic perspective to my own original creations. It’s an extension of what was designed.
Thank you so much for this interview. Is there anything else you would like to add here ?
I would like to Thank Session Sonores Team for taking the time to make this interview possible, and for having such a solid project that is covering different subjects inside the Electronic Music World.