Eric Cruz

“In the 20+ years that I’ve known and worked with Eric, I’ve seen him grow from an inspired, dedicated designer to an inspiring, passionate creative director — always investing himself fully in his projects, his teams, and, really, anything he takes on. First and foremost, Eric has an exquisite eye for design, incredible ear for music, and a remarkable ability to tell stories for diverse brands. But beyond his design and storytelling skills, one of the things that I think is most notable about Eric is how deeply he cares about fostering and supporting talent. He works side by side with designers and writers to help them flourish and rise through the ranks — constantly pushing them to do their best work and understanding when to let them take the lead. I’ve known many people who’ve been mentored by Eric and who remain fiercely loyal to him for it. In addition to his work on the creative side, Eric is an ally to production, which is very important to producers like me. His strong understanding of budgeting, scheduling, and resourcing helps the process in countless ways for the team, the clients, and overall result. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Eric’s curiosity — it hasn’t diminished at all since our early days at Imaginary Forces. He still challenges himself to learn and explore and to be an active participant in the global design community — another reason I’m sure he is so inspiring to those around him. Eric is deeply caring person, and I feel lucky to call him friend. I look forward to the day we get to work together again. ”

“I am honored to write Eric’s recommendation. I have known Eric’s for a longer time from a distance, I have always admired his rad creativity and zen calmness. Lucky and happy to have spent the last years in the same city, we have explored and cooperated on a number of projects, from TEDx large scale city events, to working with Kobe Bryant, to study and researching with the City of Shanghai around the innovation topic of Future of Retail, Future of Brands, Commerce x Culture… each project pleasurable and smooth experience, with amazing awesome final results. Eric pushes any project brief or idea further and deeper above expectations, always exploring the edges, the unknown, the untested. I enjoyed seeing how Eric works with his world-wide creative communities - seamlessly, fluid, with kindness and great respect. No matter how super busy he is, he will make time for you. I cannot imagine a better creative partner, a more thoughtful collaborator to develop dream projects with. 🙏 ”