Hello there! It’s a pleasure to meet you 🙂
This is me: Zeelaf. I’m from Islamabad, Pakistan, and I’m currently completing my bachelor’s in industrial design from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
My journey into the world of design started early—thanks to my curious interest in art ever since I was a kid. Since then, I’ve been diving headfirst into painting, experimenting with all kinds of mediums and colors, and immersing myself in the philosophies of different artistic schools.
I’m a curious soul, always looking to learn and grow, which, of course, means I often find myself with paint-splattered hands and a smile on my face. These are just some of my works you can see below 🙂 These also include a few of my works that I made and sold for an art exhibition a couple years ago.
For me, color is life. I believe every piece of art or design should do more than just exist—it should spark joy and light up the room (kind of like me on a good day hehe). This joyful mindset is at the heart of my design language.
I have a side hustle as a freelance artist and product designer, where I create pieces that are not only functional but also fun to use – bold, colorful, and organic in form. I’m all about balancing practicality with aesthetics, inspired by the clean lines of Bauhaus and the minimalism of Japanese and Scandinavian forms. But don’t let the formality fool you; I’m a very goofy person in reality and I like to make sure I make everyone around me laugh out loud at least twice a day.
When I’m not designing, you’ll likely find me lost in a book, capturing life through my camera lens, or crafting stories. I also run an Etsy store (you can check it out here auroartisan.etsy.com), where I share my handmade artworks with the world. Below you’ll find some pictures I’m personally proud of…
…and a very small number of books I absolutely loved reading.
Lastly, here are some of the social platforms you can find me at: Whatsapp, Instagram (instagram.com/zeelafsirajart), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/zeelaf-siraj), Email: zeelaf.siraj@metu.edu.tr
Hello Zeelaf, thank you so much for sharing your introduction, I have enjoyed reading it.
How is your online store going? For how long have you been running it now?
Have you spoken any Turkish before you stared your studies at METU?
Erik
Hello Sir! Thank you for asking.
My store’s going well thankfully, I’ve been running it for approximately 2 years now.
And I actually started learning and speaking Turkish after I came to METU.
Zeelaf
By the way I like the way you used the Category!
Can you please explain your classmates how to create a new category and its function?
Thank you, Erik
Sure! Will do 🙂