Principal Creative
Brand systems, murals, operational design, and the work of getting people and AI to build together — I make things that last.
These are some numbers, let's see the work
134%
Increase in framing projects completed per month — R&M 2026
$100M
Traeger acquisition of Meater — retained design support: icons, select e-commerce & product — 2021
91.7%
Reduction in weekly reporting time via automated status layer — R&M 2026
Top 5
CTR ranking for licensed collaborations (Disney, DC Comics) across GAP's global Kids & Baby markets — GAP 2017
Selected work
Meater — E-Commerce & Product
On retainer in an advisory and task-based role — one of many hands on the team. Designed the app's setup cook icons and app icon, supported select e-commerce work, and created new product lines (BBQ mittens and promotional merchandise) in the run-up to Traeger's acquisition of Meater.
AppOmni — Experiential & Digital
Decisive creative input on trade show environments and large-panel installations at Black Hat and other SaaS security events. Also led e-commerce graphics for the SaaS security platform.
GAP Inc. — 11 Years
Designed GapCash placements — Gap homepage banners for every Earn & Redeem period, plus emails — built on a 3-step graphic that Gap still deploys the same way today. GapCash is Gap's best-performing tier-based program of all time. Lead promo designer on the first-ever Gap NFT drop, and on licensed collabs with Disney and DC Comics Justice League that ranked top-5 CTR across Kids & Baby.
R&M Installations — Ops Design
Rebuilt operational workflow with ASD-STE100 simplified technical English. Projects grew from 32 to 75 per month.
Fine Art — Painting Series
Acrylic on canvas and works on paper spanning light studies, botanical observation, and urban abstraction. A sustained practice in perception — how light, form, and attention collapse into each other.
Fine Art — Pencil Drawing
Portrait studies and figurative compositions in graphite pencil. Likeness, tonal range, and the weight of a face — craft built before the screen.
What collaborators say
Mike Ruiz worked for me at Gap for over 5 years and was a talented, committed designer that I trusted to both design projects and manage our production artist team. Mike worked with great autonomy, was highly motivated, built relationships across the business, and managed a handful of production artists, some of whom developed into excellent designers under his mentorship. The work Mike supported for Gap’s billion dollar e-commerce site was both high volume and fast-paced, and Mike kept the quality bar high and the projects flowing with attention to detail and a lighthearted, team-first attitude.
Mike is a true creative talent. He has an incredible ability to capture exactly what you’re envisioning and bring it to life with originality and precision. His thoughtful approach to design, paired with his attention to detail, ensures every final piece is not only visually stunning but also thoughtfully crafted.
Capabilities
Creative Direction
Campaign concepting, visual identity, brand architecture. From positioning through production — the full creative system.
Creative Direction — GAP × Complex Media NFT on Tezos
Brand Systems
Top-5 CTR licensed collaborations for GAP Kids & Baby. Trade show architecture that doubled AppOmni's floor presence. Brand-adherent design contributions for Meater and CLA, working within their established systems. The system behind the result — not just the look.
Brand Systems — Design System Architecture
Operational Design
Workflow systems, process documentation, and team structure built for creative throughput — not just aesthetics.
Operational Design — Fitter Journey & Production Flow
About
Principal creative with a decade across product launches, brand systems, and operational design. The through-line is work that moves numbers — campaigns that rank, systems that scale, brands that stick.
At GAP I led licensed collaborations with Disney and DC Comics Justice League — designs that held a top-5 CTR across Kids & Baby segments — and was lead promo designer for the brand's first NFT drop — earning Exceed Awards in 2016 and 2017. At Meater I helped launch Meater.com, designed the app icon, supported parts of the shopping experience on retainer, and created promotional products ahead of the Traeger acquisition. At AppOmni I drove trade show environments, large-panel creative for Black Hat and other SaaS security conferences, and e-commerce graphics.
At R&M Framing I came in new to the trade. I learned it from the people who do it every day, then helped rethink how the shop runs.
Available for senior creative direction, campaign concepting, and operational design. Based in the Sacramento area — SF access when needed. Open to worldwide work.
myk1two@gmail.com Download résumé ↓"That one time my daughter campaigned for a position in ASB, and there were no restrictions on help for campaign posters, so like any designer dad I didn't hold back."
