Damian Gonzales
American, b. 1974
Damian Gonzales is an award-winning Creative Director and product designer known for developing innovative consumer products and brand-driven concepts for leading global companies. With over 20 years of experience in creative direction, product development, and brand strategy, Gonzales has collaborated with major entertainment and lifestyle brands including Disney, Marvel, Nickelodeon, NBA, MLB, NFL, Design Group Americas, EK Success Brands, Gemini Sound, and Domestics Clothing.
Since 1999, Damian Gonzales has specialized in creating high-impact licensed products, private-label programs, and retail-ready designs for U.S., European, and Asian markets. His expertise spans trend forecasting, merchandising, packaging design, and scalable product innovation. He currently serves as Creative Director at magnets.com, where he leads creative strategy, product design, and brand development.
Formally trained as a fine artist, Gonzales blends traditional art techniques with modern design thinking. His multidisciplinary work includes oil painting, watercolor, acrylic, spray paint, screen printing, and mixed media art. This diverse artistic foundation informs his unique approach to both commercial design and contemporary fine art.
In his latest work, Damian Gonzales explores Washi tape art, transforming traditional Japanese rice paper tape into a modern fine art medium. By using pigmented tape instead of paint, he creates highly detailed, textured compositions that combine abstraction with realism. His innovative process highlights craftsmanship, precision, and a hands-on artistic approach that sets his work apart in the contemporary art space.
Featured on his Instagram are Washi tape portraits of cultural icons such as Tupac Shakur, Kanye West, The Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun,, and religious figures as well as detailed studies of Nike Air Max sneakers and more. The work often blurs the line between paint and tape—though no paint is used. Each piece is painstakingly hand-ripped using only his fingernails, never scissors.
Damian Gonzales lives and works in the picturesque Pocono Mountains with his wife and two children.