COSME CRUZ
info@ccosme.info
www.otiose.cc/
info@ccosme.info
www.otiose.cc/
Design activity from Los Angeles, California, USA
I practice design as strategic inquiry—identifying opportunities and translating information into structured insight through analysis, iteration, and situational alignment. Informed by conceptual systems and non-disciplinary models, I engage platforms, infrastructures, and experiences to develop context-specific pathways shaped by utility, scope, and constraint.
PROJECTS
SUHU SUHU
San Francisco, CA, USA
26/07
Two Weeks
San Francisco, CA, USA
26/07
Two Weeks
The SUHU SUHU Booth is a modular retail display system designed for a series of craft fairs and temporary retail environments. The system was developed to support rapid assembly, disassembly, transport, and repeated use across multiple installations.
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I assisted in the design and fabrication of the booth, contributing to the structural system, material selection, fabrication, and assembly workflow. The system was developed around lightweight construction, modularity, and repeated use, creating a flexible display environment that could be easily transported, assembled, and adapted across multiple retail installations.
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In collaboration with SUHU SUHU.
I assisted in the design and fabrication of the booth, contributing to the structural system, material selection, fabrication, and assembly workflow. The system was developed around lightweight construction, modularity, and repeated use, creating a flexible display environment that could be easily transported, assembled, and adapted across multiple retail installations.
In collaboration with SUHU SUHU.
Areca Candy
El Monte, CA, USA
025/02
Ongoing
El Monte, CA, USA
025/02
Ongoing
Areca Candy Co. is a Los Angeles–based brand that “explores flavor with intention,” crafting candies that range from the familiar to the unexpected — balancing bold taste and quality.
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I worked alongside Areca’s brand designer to build out the visual identity for their social-content — creating social assets and design elements. I helped prepare the brand for its first retail launch by shaping how the brand looked and communicated in digital media, and by supporting workflows connected to that rollout.
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I worked alongside Areca’s brand designer to build out the visual identity for their social-content — creating social assets and design elements. I helped prepare the brand for its first retail launch by shaping how the brand looked and communicated in digital media, and by supporting workflows connected to that rollout.
Our Halo
Los Angeles, CA, USA
024/08
Thirteen Weeks
Los Angeles, CA, USA
024/08
Thirteen Weeks
Our Halo is a 360° visual surface I designed and fabricated for a local art show in August 2024. The piece functions as a circular projection environment, allowing multiple artworks to be displayed as a continuous, immersive image field.
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I developed the full system—formatting artworks for a 360° surface, building the projection logic, executing the technical mapping workflow, and fabricating the physical structure. This included defining the material stack, designing joinery and curvature, and calibrating the projection environment to create a unified visual field. The project demonstrates how I approach spatial media, technical execution, and fabrication as an integrated design process.
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In collaboration with Known Studios, for their 1 year Anniversary show.
I developed the full system—formatting artworks for a 360° surface, building the projection logic, executing the technical mapping workflow, and fabricating the physical structure. This included defining the material stack, designing joinery and curvature, and calibrating the projection environment to create a unified visual field. The project demonstrates how I approach spatial media, technical execution, and fabrication as an integrated design process.
In collaboration with Known Studios, for their 1 year Anniversary show.
Disorder Playlist Identity
Remote
023/11
Two Weeks
Remote
023/11
Two Weeks
Disorder is a playlist highlighting artists who challenge sonic norms—innovative in form, punk in attitude, and shaped by a global context. The visual identity is built with Spotify’s editorial direction in mind and designed for consistent application across covers, campaigns, and digital formats.
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Developed through Decoding Identities (Aprender Design) in collaboration with Mic Anderson, the system draws on the raw attitude of emerging artists and the visual language of guerrilla-era music promotion. Torn paper elements reference handmade flyers and pre-digital distribution tactics, reinforcing the disorderly energy behind the playlist’s sound. The project later expands to include a broader international artist set while maintaining its modular structure across Spotify covers, digital campaigns, and motion assets.
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The final system delivers a flexible visual toolkit that captures the playlist’s rebellious tone and editorial intent. It supports consistent rollout across Spotify’s ecosystem, offering visual structure while leaving space for future adaptation as the artist selection evolves.
Developed through Decoding Identities (Aprender Design) in collaboration with Mic Anderson, the system draws on the raw attitude of emerging artists and the visual language of guerrilla-era music promotion. Torn paper elements reference handmade flyers and pre-digital distribution tactics, reinforcing the disorderly energy behind the playlist’s sound. The project later expands to include a broader international artist set while maintaining its modular structure across Spotify covers, digital campaigns, and motion assets.
The final system delivers a flexible visual toolkit that captures the playlist’s rebellious tone and editorial intent. It supports consistent rollout across Spotify’s ecosystem, offering visual structure while leaving space for future adaptation as the artist selection evolves.
Safe Niños
Santiago, Pudahuel, Región Metropolitana, Chile
019/06
Sixteen Weeks
Santiago, Pudahuel, Región Metropolitana, Chile
019/06
Sixteen Weeks
Amigos de Curación is a therapeutic doll developed through Safe Niños, a social impact initiative led by COANIQUEM and Designmatters. Designed for pediatric burn patients, the doll uses tactility, sound, and weight to support emotional resilience and physical familiarity through play-based rehabilitation.
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This project was developed through a two-week research residency across COANIQUEM’s Santiago, Antofagasta, and Puerto Montt campuses. Field engagement included interviews, patient shadowing, and co-design sessions with children, therapists, and staff. These insights shaped a modular therapeutic doll that reflects rehabilitation routines and integrates tactile and auditory features. The design emphasizes localized assembly, aligning with COANIQUEM’s in-house garment teams to accommodate material access and staffing across different campuses.
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The therapeutic dolls function as personalized companions that support emotional resilience, guided rehabilitation, and child-led learning. Their modular structure allows care teams to tailor features to individual recovery needs, while the localized assembly model ensures integration into COANIQUEM’s existing infrastructure. Designed for both clinical and at-home use, the system strengthens the continuity of care through play.
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This project was developed through a two-week research residency across COANIQUEM’s Santiago, Antofagasta, and Puerto Montt campuses. Field engagement included interviews, patient shadowing, and co-design sessions with children, therapists, and staff. These insights shaped a modular therapeutic doll that reflects rehabilitation routines and integrates tactile and auditory features. The design emphasizes localized assembly, aligning with COANIQUEM’s in-house garment teams to accommodate material access and staffing across different campuses.
The therapeutic dolls function as personalized companions that support emotional resilience, guided rehabilitation, and child-led learning. Their modular structure allows care teams to tailor features to individual recovery needs, while the localized assembly model ensures integration into COANIQUEM’s existing infrastructure. Designed for both clinical and at-home use, the system strengthens the continuity of care through play.
EXPERIENCE
ArtCenter
Pasadena, CA, USA
25/07 – 26/~
Pasadena, CA, USA
25/07 – 26/~
Education Practice Associate, Emerging Tech Studio: AI
Collaborated with lead faculty on curriculum development and course delivery exploring ethical and applied design with AI. Guided students through workshops, critiques, and project mentorship.
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Collaborated with lead faculty on curriculum development and course delivery exploring ethical and applied design with AI. Guided students through workshops, critiques, and project mentorship.
INSEAD
Online Programme
Remote
20/02 – 22/07
Remote
20/02 – 22/07
Design coach for international business executives. Led weekly sessions translating creative strategies into actionable design methodologies across organizational contexts. Cohorts averaged a dozen participants over six-week cycles.
(Confidential Client Work)
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(Confidential Client Work)
YIKES!
Web CMF: Studio Maxima
Los Angeles, CA, USA
025/01
Four Weeks
Los Angeles, CA, USA
025/01
Four Weeks
Web interface concept for Studio Maxima using 3D chair models as navigational elements. Developed as an MVP, the interface explores spatial interaction and surface treatments, aligning with the studio’s gathering, conversation, and collaborative exchange philosophy.
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Built around Studio Maxima’s ongoing artist assembly program, the interface reimagines web navigation through the metaphor of “taking a seat.” Users explore content by selecting from a rotating set of 3D chair models—each referencing actual seating in the studio’s physical space. CMF development focused on blending recognizable forms with speculative material finishes to evoke familiarity and creative potential. Assets by Mikey Robinson were adapted with custom surface treatments and positioned within a circular layout echoing the studio’s communal ethos. The MVP features a static hover-state interaction; a future iteration may include motion-based navigation, such as a continuous carousel.
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The project delivers a conceptual prototype that merges interface, spatial logic, and material expression. It serves as both a navigation model and a visual artifact—testing how digital space can reflect a studio’s physical culture. The CMF work establishes a system of textured references and interpretive surfaces that extend Studio Maxima’s identity into web-based interaction.
Built around Studio Maxima’s ongoing artist assembly program, the interface reimagines web navigation through the metaphor of “taking a seat.” Users explore content by selecting from a rotating set of 3D chair models—each referencing actual seating in the studio’s physical space. CMF development focused on blending recognizable forms with speculative material finishes to evoke familiarity and creative potential. Assets by Mikey Robinson were adapted with custom surface treatments and positioned within a circular layout echoing the studio’s communal ethos. The MVP features a static hover-state interaction; a future iteration may include motion-based navigation, such as a continuous carousel.
The project delivers a conceptual prototype that merges interface, spatial logic, and material expression. It serves as both a navigation model and a visual artifact—testing how digital space can reflect a studio’s physical culture. The CMF work establishes a system of textured references and interpretive surfaces that extend Studio Maxima’s identity into web-based interaction.
Material Index: Topological Affordance
Pasadena, CA, USA
019/08
Seven Weeks
Pasadena, CA, USA
019/08
Seven Weeks
The design explores the concept of organic compartmentalization through a biomimetic topography. Rather than a fixed form, this is a physical interpretation of digital terrain, featuring varying depressions and undulating ridges. These contours create open-ended physical affordances, allowing for the appropriation of space based on individual use cases—from jewelry and coins to everyday carry items. The resulting aesthetic highlights a tiered, stepped profile with exposed edge-grain fluting.
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Geometry generation utilizes parametric workflows in Rhino and Grasshopper for precise mathematical control of curvature and topological void depth. Three-dimensional data undergoes sectional translation via Fusion 360 Slicer, converting complex volumes into a coordinated sequence of 2D planes. Components are produced using a CO2 laser cutter to maintain dimensional accuracy and edge-profile clarity across the 1/16" fluted cardboard substrate. Final assembly involves the indexed stacking of laser-cut segments, with each layer serving as a physical cross-section. Alignment is maintained by internal fluting, ensuring structural stability.
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Geometry generation utilizes parametric workflows in Rhino and Grasshopper for precise mathematical control of curvature and topological void depth. Three-dimensional data undergoes sectional translation via Fusion 360 Slicer, converting complex volumes into a coordinated sequence of 2D planes. Components are produced using a CO2 laser cutter to maintain dimensional accuracy and edge-profile clarity across the 1/16" fluted cardboard substrate. Final assembly involves the indexed stacking of laser-cut segments, with each layer serving as a physical cross-section. Alignment is maintained by internal fluting, ensuring structural stability.
Material Index: Paper Porcealian
Pasadena, CA, USA
019/08
Seven Weeks
Pasadena, CA, USA
019/08
Seven Weeks
Experimental fabrication using Keraflex flexible ceramic sheets, cut and perforated prior to firing. Laser scoring and sectional removal introduce controlled weaknesses that respond to kiln heat, producing distortion, contraction, and surface variation. The study observes how precision cuts and thermal exposure influence form, texture, and structural stability within thin ceramic substrates.
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New Opportunity Inquiries
info@ccosme.info
About
Practicing strategy through cycles of discovery, scope, and utility—engaging with systems that operate across platforms, infrastructures, and experiences. Projects are approached as part of broader networks, where iterative, cross-field processes frame opportunities and translate inquiry, experimentation, and observation into actionable design pathways.
CC BY-SA 4.0
© 2020 – 2026 www.otiose.cc/