Loving L.A.
Spencer Cross' California dreams live and die with creative risk management

By Carolyn Barry

Spencer Cross

Spencer Cross ('97) has always been about pushing himself beyond the expected. The philosophy has helped him to succeed in the competitive world of advertising and graphic design.

"My motivation is always to take things as far as I can and to do something innovative or exciting or different," he said.

That approach is behind his newly launched business and is also what helped him win a 2002 American Graphic Design award from Graphic Design USA Magazine. His work was also selected for the American Institute of Graphic Arts' exhibition and book "Mark Your Territory: A Celebration of Logos" and the Art/Design/L.A. juried art exhibition.

Cross, 31, was born into a family of artists and graphic designers. He said he inherited that and from an early age "was always the kid who drew cartoons for the class newsletter."

His desire to push his limits is also what took him, on graduation, to Los Angeles, with $1,300 in his pocket and almost no connections.

"There was an appeal to me to live in this giant metropolis," he said.

Cross said he got his first job as a production artist by interviewing for a higher position and convincing the employer that he could do the work.

"That defined a lot of how I've come to every job so far – winging it," he said.

Cross then worked as a senior designer at Creative Intelligence Inc., where he said he worked for clients such as Disney, DreamWorks SKG, Motorola and Armani. After honing his design skills, he moved into the music and entertainment world, working as a graphic designer and team leader at the House of Blues Entertainment Inc. He said he then left to become an assistant art director at the Los Angeles headquarters of Sin City's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino before realizing his dream of breaking out of the corporate structure and starting his own creative company.

Above: Among Spencer Cross' most popular design work is his robot art, derived from youthful doodles. Below: A logo he designed for a high-end clothing boutique.

In August 2005, Cross opened the doors of Tokyo Farm (www.tokyofarm.com), a full-service creative boutique he intends to expand into a gallery and retail boutique.

"The goal of the gallery would be to serve as a home for projects from the art collective that I co-founded, Pop Rocks & Soda, and artists that we admire," he said. Cross displays his own fine-art work at at fivethousand.net.

He said he's never really been happy working for other people.

"The biggest motivation was taking things into my own hands, being the one to call the shots and make those creative decisions – I can really push the limits,"he said.

He attributed some of his success to his teachers at CU.

Cross said he still keeps in contact with Associate Professor Brett Robbs, adding that adjunct instructor Walt Perls also shaped his perspective on creativity.

"A lesson I really took to heart from Walt Perls was that you can always pull something back, but you can't make something more creative," he said.

Robbs remembers Cross for his creativity and courage. "At CU, he was irrepressibly creative, producing both strong, funny advertising and unexpected artwork," he said. "But what I've always admired about him is his refusal to play it safe, whether it was moving to California where he knew no one to start his career or leaving a secure job to launch his own design business. I think his success says a lot about how smart risk-taking can really pay off in both life and work."

And while those risks are beginning to pay off for Cross, success has not come easy.

"Getting to this point has mostly been a combination of luck and tenacity," he said. "Things have never fallen into my lap. For the most part, I've had to really pursue things I was interested in on my own."

Cross said Los Angeles is a difficult place to be a design professional because most designers either work independently or at small two- to three-person boutique firms, and there is very little professional contact or support for those in the early stages of their career.

"If you're not involved in the AIGA, it's really hard to meet other professionals," Cross said.

Wanting to give back to the profession, Cross said he began a side project called "Kernspiracy," a peer support group and e-mail discussion list that he began as a way to help young designers get the advice and feedback of colleagues in the industry and connect socially with other professionals.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Cross also writes for the blogs at blogging.la, a Web log about all things in Los Angeles, and art.blogging.la, a Web log focused on issues of art and design in Los Angeles.

They are part of the worldwide Metroblogging network for which he does some administrative and planning work. jakkal@hotmail.com