I’m Fred — a creative director, illustrator, photographer, designer and tattoo artist, soon based in Berlin. I’m a believer in the power of change that the beautiful side of life. I believe in joy as a tool, queerness as truth, and creativity as a way of healing. My work lives somewhere between colour and emotion, instinct and intention and I’m endlessly drawn to the potential hiding in things. I’m a pro at finding the potential of everything around me and I can’t stop falling in love.
I MIGHT LOVE TOO MUCH
It happened again. I found myself looking out the window, grasping for words that might help me explain what makes my heart beat faster, all the things that make me create. Soft music, silence, love, queerness, handmade drawings, vulnerability, bright colours, soft colours, ceramics, food, nature, nostalgia, friendship, inner exploration, cute dogs, fluffy cats, the ocean, the mountains, the clouds, the universe… I think I might love too many things. I think I might love too much.
My eyes always find and focus on the most beautiful side of anything. My mind dreams about all the possibilities, and my heart falls in love with the potential of everything.
Maybe it’s the potential of everything that really makes my heart beat faster, the escapism of a better everything.
Right now, I do creative direction, design, photography, illustration, and tattoos. I wrote “right now” because I’ve lived many lives before. I created music and toured the country playing shows. Directed a TV show about people’s life stories through fashion. The European Union invited me to teach workshops on how to create activist fanzines. I created and hosted a queer podcast that became the most-listened-to show on Spotify in Portugal. I designed posters for music festivals, designed and illustrated books… Taught workshops about photography, design, social media, and how to start small businesses. I’ve spoken at conferences at the most prestigious universities in Portugal to inspire the new generations of creatives, and I’ve debated at round tables about the future of art and design as a tool for change.
I connected, I created, and I loved, over and over again.
I fell in love with the potential of everything, and I did everything. I like the problem because it allows me to find a solution.
And the solution is always on the bright, fun, cute, and beautiful side of life. So I never know what’s next, besides the urge to create more, to keep falling in love with the potential, and to keep finding the beauty in it.
OVER THE YEARS
Check out my career path over the years
