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If you’re here for a quick TL:DR version just scroll down to the bottom of this page.

Contrary to what my domain name suggests my full name is Caio Lazzuri Candido Ferreira and that collection and quantity of names should give you a hint as to where I’m from.

If you guessed Brazil, you are correct. I wrote that with a Z instead of S for a few different reasons.
Out of respect, since It’s the correct way of spelling it in English, but also out of affection, because for the past 16 years I’ve called the United States of America my home.

I first arrived in San Francisco, fell in love with it and lived there for 5 years. Then moved up north to Portland, Oregon, fell in love once again, and lived there for 6 more. From there I moved to Brooklyn, NY for about a year or so (not so much of a “in love” situation if I’m honest), then returned to the Bay Area which is where I currently live.

The last 16 years have been wildly fulfilling. I worked at great places alongside the best people one can wish for, I made great friends, got married, became a runner, then ran a marathon, bought a house, became a dad, made more friends, worked alongside even more incredible human beings, faced my share of challenges, learned a lot from epic fails, celebrated a few victories along the way and now here I am, with a heart filled with gratitude for all of the above, for what preceded it and for today.

You see, back in Brasil, now respectfully spelled corretamente, I grew up surrounded by a large, loud and most importantly loving family. I was raised by fiercely creative and resilient people who were pioneers in their own regard.

I loved hearing stories about my grandfather who emigrated from Italy as a child to lead a life of integrity and hard work running his typography/print shop till the day he died, or my dad who started working at 14 and by his early 20s owned his furniture store, my mother who had my brother at age 19 and me shortly after, to then return to work at 28 and go on to become a prolific furniture designer and corporate events powerhouse. They did that while leading a life full of grace and joy regardless of the challenges they faced.

From them I learned an important lesson: Start early, work hard and be kind to others. First in and last out kind of thing, but for life in general, a standard which I still strive for. I believe joy, grace and kindness to be hallmarks of Brazilian culture. You can see it in our smiles, hear it in our music. And even though I’m incapable of representing the stereotype when it comes to sports or dancing, I am musical, I am creative and I am kind. The joy thing depends on the day, but I do try my best there as well.


So I did as I was “told”. I started my career early at age 18, while simultaneously going to college at night. The first company I worked for was called MediaLab (which I think was a homage to the famous one at the MIT) and our job was to create websites for big companies. I absolutely loved it all, and for years, designing for the web was all I thought about.

The web fascinated me as a medium and the noble promise it held stole my post-pubescent idealistic heart. The combination of creative expression and cutting edge technology blew my mind, challenged and energized me. Who needs sleep?! I felt part of something enormous. We were pioneers laying the foundation of something important. So I kept at it.

I went from designing one .com to the next, with different people, at different companies and from one job to the next, my work/passion slowly coalesced into a serious career.

It felt like I had put my head down to focus on work and didn’t look up for years until I burned out. The stress of work and college combined with an unhealthy lifestyle caught up with me. I was a wreck. I took a sick leave at work and dropped out of college. After 3 months or so of recovery I got a freelance gig lined up. One that would need me to travel abroad. I needed a change of scenery so without much thought, I quit my day job and moved to the Middle East.

My time in Beirut was exhilarating. I loved the people, the food, the history, the friendships, the work. I had all the freedom a 25 year old could wish for and also the means to enjoy it.

What I didn’t realize at the time was the price tag that came along with it. All that freedom meant leaving behind everyone I’ve ever knew and loved which at first didn’t feel permanent. I naively assumed that life back home would just be on pause, waiting for my Campbellian journey to be completed and when that time came, I would triumphantly return home to be greeted by all the same friends, the same family with all the same love waiting for me. So without much thought, I carried on and kept on traveling.

My journey was cut short by a car bomb which happened way too close to me on a Friday night in Beirut. It scared me so much I decided to hop on a plane and leave it all behind. Work, friends, love, everything. For a while I couldn’t go into dark places and I didn’t do well with loud noises. I went back to Sao Paulo and shortly after back to work alongside wonderful friends who kindly took me in and I couldn’t help but be inspired by the people I worked with and the work, became once again my salvation (or my escape, depending on how you look at it).

That year was fun but it was also a haze, perhaps caused by the endless working hours which were mostly self inflicted, a byproduct of procrastination. I don’t remember much other than overfilled ashtrays and the loneliness of my studio apartment. Gross. On a positive note though, I did learn some new chops as I spent most of that time working as a motion graphics designer.

Cut to 2006 and I’m in trouble as I am trying to finish a music video where I clearly bit way more than I could chew. I was so used to getting away with it that I miscalculated this one by a lot. It was embarrassing and right in the middle of that awful situation I get this miraculous call (maybe it was an email) from a company in San Francisco. They were looking for a designer and my portfolio had come across their table. Needless to say I was all in. Didn’t even bother negotiating details such as salary, position, etc. I needed some fresh air and that call was a godsend. São Paulo was killing me. Once again, I packed a couple of bags, said my goodbyes and headed to the airport. This time it felt different. Maybe a part of me knew this move was permanent.

The rest is history and I already wrote about the last 16 years at the start of this bio so I won’t keep you any longer. The last thing I’ll say in this bio is that nowadays I am more grateful than I am proud of my professional life and I like feeling that way. I am grateful for your time in reading this and for each and every one of my waking moments. And hey, if you would like to chat, share your story or learn more about mine, hit me up. You know where to find me.

Thanks for stopping by.


TL;DR

Over the past 20+ years I have worked as a designer, art director, motion graphics artist, 3D generalist and creative director in a variety of creative companies. During my career I have had the pleasure of covering the full gamut of disciplines by working in production, both in interactive and broadcast formats, ad agencies and in-house or brand side. I am passionate about the intersection of creativity and technology and as result I am interested in the myriad of communication channels and formats that seem to fluctuate over time. Time has given me skills to make good use of whatever format is needed for whatever business problem demanding a creative solution I am tasked with. Curiosity kept me engaged and experience gave me the clarity to enjoy the fluidity of such creative endeavors.

I joined Apple in 2018 and my current job is to create and execute virtual event films that came to replace the iconic live Apple Keynotes that existed until 2019. So far I have had the pleasure of working with a world class crew, both in and outside of Apple on 6 of them. All of which were streamed live on apple.com, YouTube and other channels around the world.

Prior to my time at Apple I worked in world class ad agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy, 72 and Sunny, Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, AKQA and others. During that time I worked as both art director and creative director on the world’s most iconic brands and delivered award winning work in a wide variety of formats.