Meet Erik Cox, Founder at WISE APE
A short background on me
I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado, and went to CSU. Early on, I had the opportunity to work with Bob Coonts, who has since become a significant fine artist in town. After I graduated from CSU, I moved to Los Angeles to get a second degree in graphic & package design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, still ranked in the top 20 graduate schools in the country.
I spent the next twenty years working at various award-winning design firms, collaborating with world-class designers, photographers, and printers. I cut my teeth for a few years working in Chicago, with the bulk of my career spent as a Partner and Creative Director of a boutique design & strategy firm in San Francisco, building the strategy and creative direction for Fortune 500 companies and emerging small businesses, Yes, I was there for the first .com boom and bust.
What led me to WISE APE
Before I launched WISE APE, I had relocated and worked with a large marketing agency. Experiencing working within a 100+ person agency taught me it wasn’t what I wanted to do forever, and a few big decisions pointed me to a different path. I had been doing some side work for Nick’s Italian, which reinvigorated my passion for working directly with clients. It also became the launching point for my independent design studio here in Fort Collins, WISE APE.
The name WISE APE
Experience meets intuition is my slogan for WISE APE, a name that symbolizes the wisdom I’ve gained through years of experience married with my intuition for smart designs.
As an entrepreneur, it’s in my nature to be precise and efficient from start to finish, and I understand that everything you create and invest in has to work hard to build your brand’s success. I like to refer to my approach as smart creative. I approach all projects with your objectives in mind. I work to create deliverables across whatever mediums are appropriate over just their aesthetics. Thoughtful design executed at a high level allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to be themselves.
My clients, who I’m proud to call friends, say I’m easy to work with... some of them even call me Easy E.
It’s nice to meet you. I’d love to chat.