Zeta Cruz

I am a graphic designer specializing in branding and digital assets. I develop creative strategies and build strong visual identities so they resonate with their audiences.

I come from a multicultural background as a native Chamorro with roots in Guam, raised in the Palmetto State of South Carolina. New York City has been my home since 2019.

I’m currently supporting the Global Art Team at Michael Kors as a Junior Graphic Designer, working across global digital touchpoints including web, email, ads, and social. I’ve also played a key role in supporting the team’s transition from Adobe XD to Figma.

Alongside this, I contribute to UI/UX needs and collaborate closely with senior creatives, marketing, and art direction to build and refine the design system in Figma.

ztajcruz@gmail.com
Linkedin

Work

Butter
The Derive
The BAM
Morphology
Fantastic Acid

Education

Fashion Institute of Technology,
Advertising and Digital Design
Fall 2023 - Spring 2025

Fashion Institute of Technology,
Communication Design
Fall 2021 - Spring 2023

Experience

Michael Kors, Jr. Graphic Designer
December 2025 - Current

Freelance, Graphic Design
September 2025 to December 2025

Prophet, Brand Design
June 2025 to August 2025

Watson, Brand Design
September 2024 to May 2025

Highgate, Brand & Marketing Design
June 2024 to August 2024

Surfside, Brand & Marketing Design
July 2022 to August 2022

Recognition

Morphology, Experimental Typography Winner, Communication Arts 2025

2023-2024 APIA McDonald’s Scholarship Recipient

Digital & Technical Skills

Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, InDesign), Figma, Blender, basic HTML and CSS, AI generative design and assisted workflows, AR/VR design
and spatial concepts in SketchUp.

Last Updated 12.12.25

Michael Kors: Establishing a Design System

For MK's digital marketing presence, I noticed there was no shared system for how image, type, and message should live together across the channel. In that absence, designers were left to resolve the tension without alignment, resulting in an inconsistent brand presence.

This realignment set out to establish a unified visual system that could hold those competing demands—bringing structure to hierarchy, consistency to execution, and clarity to how the brand shows up across formats.

The visual system lacks a clear hierarchy, causing logos, headlines, and supporting copy to compete for attention rather than guide the viewer through the message. Cluttered layouts and inconsistent spacing reduce clarity, while fine print and secondary copy are often compressed to sizes that hurt readability and accessibility. At the same time, imagery is frequently altered in post-production without a consistent visual standard, creating fragmentation across assets and weakening overall brand cohesion.

By analyzing advertising systems from leading fashion brands, it became clear that a structured grid system solves many of the current visual inconsistencies while reinforcing a more sophisticated brand presence. The grid creates intentional framing for photography, establishes a clearer hierarchy between logo and typography, and uses negative space to maintain clarity and refinement. As a result, photography and typography work together rather than compete, creating a more cohesive and recognizable visual system.

The result is a more cohesive and scalable visual system that creates a stronger hierarchy, improves readability, and allows assets to feel consistently sophisticated across all formats. By balancing visual weight proportionally, photography, typography, and branding work together more intentionally, strengthening brand recognition while giving the creative more flexibility to adapt across varying content needs.