The amusement park Six Flag Great Adventure (RIP) had a rollercoaster called Nitro. It was fast and fabulous and after all the ups and downs it ended with a super quick turn and hard press on the breaks that left riders thrilled and just a tad whiplashed.

That was June for me.

Things were wild, but I am grateful for the hard stop that vacation brought me. So pull up a chair, put your toes in the sand and pour a cold drink while you’re at it.

I’m so glad you’re here for my first interview about creative courage. I’m talking to Daniel Cruz, founder of I am Bún, and a seasoned motion designer who crafts dynamic 2D/3D animations that turn complex ideas into stories that move people. We discuss how to reframe feedback in terms of problem solving and what it means to have your own back when it comes to creativity.

While I certainly don’t like to give men too much credit for anything, (even men I love) the truth is that I’m not sure if I ever would have started writing seriously if Daniel Cruz hadn’t looked at me on our third date and said, “Tell me about some of your passion projects.”

As an artist who specialize in motion graphics, animation and brand storytelling, Daniel shows up as his full self and imbues each of his designs with cultural style and personal flair. I don’t just admire his boldness, I’m jealous of it. 

Seeing the rigor and commitment that he puts into his art, gave me the push I needed to take my own creative ideas seriously and begin drafting a book. 

So it feels fitting to start my exploration of creative courage here with Daniel Cruz who, if you haven’t figured it out, is also my husband.

CCC: What is your first memory of being creative?

DC: Back in the 90s I grew up poor with not a lot to entertain me, but a lot of time on my hands to do things like draw and paint and even make my own toys. My siblings and I would take cereal boxes and cut them up to make our own Transformers. I remember trying to figure out how to make them three dimensional. No one told me how, I just figured it out. 

CCC: What challenges did you face getting into art and taking it seriously enough that you made it your career?

DC: I’m Brown, I’m Mexican. I’ve been told my whole life that I’ll never be someone in this world because of who I am. I grew up hearing teachers tell me that I couldn’t have a career in art. 

Even when he was working multiple jobs to get through college, creativity found a way back into his life.

DC: I was working a lot, and I had these jobs that felt like dead ends. And I just thought this couldn’t be how my life goes. I was working for a bank. It was so boring. Me and my coworker started challenging each other to draw things on Paint –that application that used to be on everyone’s computers.

Finally realizing that civil engineering was never going to be his calling –along with some sage advice from his brother—Daniel applied for graphic design and eventually studied at Kean University.

DC: Following my gut is what made me who I am. There were times when I showed my portfolio and people said ‘you won’t get a job because you don't have this or that’. They just shut me down. I realized I couldn’t depend on others to hook it up for me. So I started figuring it out for myself. 

CCC: Tell me about the tagline that accompanies your brand “Design Is Hope.” Obviously it means a lot to you, you have it tattooed on your arm!

DC: I believe that design should be used to educate and help drive society into a more positive and informative path. It should have a message. The most powerful messages in history are designed. 

It’s important to Daniel to use that power to talk about things that matter to him. 

DC: I have a project called 9 Digits that I am working on. It’s about the experience of immigration. It’s personal. People don’t see immigrants and undocumented people as people. I want to bring empathy to that.

CCC: We’re definitely going to want you to share that with us when it’s done! What does the phrase “creative courage” mean to you?

DC: To me it’s letting creativity take over, having no barriers. Getting to create what you want and how you want…allowing your instincts to kick in and go nuts. It’s when I allow myself to be me and it doesn’t matter if it fits society’s standards. 

CCC: One of the sticking points for many people I talk to is getting feedback on their creative work. It’s scary! How do you deal with that?

DC: When you put work out there you’re going to get feedback. You’re going to take a hit. And at the beginning it really sucked and I took it personally. And then I found the right mentors and they reminded me that my role as a designer is to solve problems and feedback is there to help you solve the problem.  Also some people are just haters and will complain no matter what. 

CCC: So true. What advice do you have for someone who is holding back a creative project because they are afraid of failing or being judged. 

DC: Just do it. Who cares what anyone says. Be yourself no matter what. Even if you fail you’ll still learn. You don’t want to live your life asking “what if?” People will say things are impossible, but that’s only because they didn’t figure it out for themselves. Go for it. What do you actually have to lose? 

CCC: Thanks! It was really cool to talk to you in this way.

DC: That felt like a therapy session.

To learn more about Daniel’s work as a motion graphics designer, visit his website and follow him on Instagram and TikTok.

On my shamefully small bookshelf there is a basket of notebooks. Some are filled, most are blank. Some I bought for myself, most were gifts with inscriptions. Next to my desk is a bin with three notebooks all of which are started, but unfinished. They contain world building notes, sketches, scraps of dialogues and character webs. There is a pouch of pens and a box of brand new pens. Minimum of 25 pens.

So tell me how I found myself at the airport at the beginning of June with time to spare, no pen, no notebook and the burning desire to write.

I sat there and I thought, I could let the moment pass by or I could scour Newark for the proper materials. 

$46 dollars later (I can’t even…is this notebook fire proof or something?!) I had yet another new notebook and new pen in hand. I sat down to do something I haven’t done in years, I drafted by hand. 

One of my tried and tested strategies for writing is that when I feel stuck or uninspired, I switch up one thing. For example:

In this case, I chose to change how I write. It led to two discoveries:

So here is my bookish advice for the month. What obstacles/challenges can you put in your way that will change your flow?

Here are a few ideas:

What I wrote by hand isn’t what will end up on the page. It’s a first pass, the worst it will ever be. The objective here isn’t to write better, it’s just to write. 

This month maybe you’ll try something new. Like Daniel reminded us, what do you actually have to lose?

Forward this to someone else you think would like it and encourage them to…

Follow me on Instagram by clicking the icon in the footer.