Ben Cruz is an executive creative director, storyteller and strategic brand visionary with more than 20 years of experience developing, leading and driving products, services and experiences for Fortune 500 brands and startups.

Ben’s worked with many iconic brands, including Amazon Grocery, Kindle, Pernod Ricard, Ducati, Rowenta, Don Julio, Krups and MasterCard.

Here’s Ben’s experience being a Saint James Studios client and frequent collaborator with lead storyboard artist Joe James.

Joe and I go back many years, all the way to high school…

Joe was an affable young man then, bright, helpful and the same age as my younger brother. The Joe I know today hasn’t changed much — though he has a more developed vocabulary — and his authentic, sincere personality remains.

One thing about working in New York is that you find yourself overlapping orbits with people at different times of your life. When Joe was following his track of illustrating graphic novels, I was in the world of advertising and design. Joe and I ran into each other occasionally and would catch up on life and work.

First Storyboard Project

At some point, I learned Joe was doing storyboards. In my industry, you try to work with people you know. I gave Joe an opportunity to help on a project, and he knocked it out of the park. That’s when I started thinking of Joe as my secret weapon. Our collaboration has continued ever since then.

Storyboards’ Role in the Creative Process

What we do in advertising and marketing today has evolved. We’re saturated with imagery and have access to many different tools and resources and also focus on mood boards — What I’m going to give you will look like this.

It can be hard to show clients who aren’t educated in the process because they get enamored when you show them actual visuals, especially something high-production and more costly.

wet n wild boards

Finding the Beats and Moments

Joe and I like to talk about beats, those moments in a spot or story, and how our work goes way beyond just executing what’s written that it’s almost musical.

Storytelling, in the right hands, is a gift. Directors like Scorsese and Kubrick can craft an entire story without words. That’s an incredible skill, and most people don’t have that talent or patience for a visual language.

Joe incorporates storytelling into his work with a cinematic approach that’s two-dimensional. There’s something that feels effortless in the way Joe can turn things around.

As a storyboard artist, Joe can deliver something new and uniquely customized for the brand, not a derivative of something else, that also fits the budget.

Collaboration, Creativity and Care

Sometimes when Joe and I collaborate, I’ll send random references his way — links to people and other works and things I’m thinking about. I’m sure this can be overwhelming, and I will wonder if Joe is tracking. But then he’ll come back with a concept that picked up on all my assorted thoughts, and it’ll be perfect for what I need.

This is how the two of us have worked together for years and for many clients, including All-Clad, Krups, Rowenta and Cantu, and on a diverse mix of projects — from print to broadcast to social media campaigns.

Parting Thoughts

At times, I still find the ease of our partnership a bit amazing. And though I’d like to keep Joe’s work all to myself, I know he’s in demand and am happy for Saint James Studios’ success.

Here’s advice for my fellow creative directors who may not have worked with Joe before:

If you need someone to solve a problem visually and only have a kernel of an idea, Joe will build on it and create something that’s well-thought-out and finished. Joe can also be the right person for you, even if you know exactly what you want. He’ll figure out a way to enhance what you have and give you back something you weren’t expecting — and it’s just what you need.