Karina Cruz

I have worked in a variety of industries from non-profits to start-ups. I taught myself programs in the Adobe Creative Suite and began freelancing as a graphic designer in 2018. I was hired by The Mars Agency in 2019 as a Junior Art Director and was promoted to Art Director shortly after. The Mars Agency is a shopper marketing agency and although I worked with a few clients, my main client was BlueTriton (previously Nestlé Waters). I worked on banner ads, print coupons, in-store displays, Amazon pages and much more. Throughout my time there, I took on more responsibilities that included mentoring new employees, organizing our file systems, and pitching campaign visuals. I left Mars to go to Spain and get a Master's in Art Direction at Barcelona's ELISAVA University. Since graduating, I have been freelancing by helping small and new businesses fulfill their design needs. I help these businesses understand their brand identity and have created brand guidelines, Squarespace websites, logos, photo shoot mood boards, business cards, flyers, presentations, and much more.

I went to Barcelona, Spain and completed their Master's in Art Direction & New Narratives in August of 2023. Tutored by industry insiders, I worked in groups to source materials, execute photo shoots, plan events and create compelling presentations to showcase our work. Each project culminated in a printed creative book. I conceptualized, executed, funded, and scouted for talent and materials for each project. It was a hands-on and diverse program.

TOOLS: Midjourney, Premiere, Procreate, Figma, InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, Miro 

SKILLS: concept development, mood boards, photo shoot directing, prop sourcing, talent scouting, public presentations, editorial designs, copywriting, event production, AI prompting, budgeting, photo editing, event planning, storyboarding, amateur filmmaking, stop-motion film, aesthetic guidelines