General Inquiries
studio@adamjk.com

Partnerships & Speaking
victoria.bachan@whalar.com

Brand & Wholesale
Shop from BuyOlympia

Animated photograph of Adam with copies of his book, Pick Me Up. Adam looks to camera and the image appears to wiggle creating a three-dimensional effect.

"Adam J. Kurtz wants you to feel better. About yourself. About the world. About the creative process, which, if you’re anything like him, you’re well aware can stomp on your dreams and grind your optimism down until you’re an unproductive mix of insecurity and self-doubt."
–ADWEEK

Photo of Adam sitting on the ground, drawing with paint markers onto a glass window.
Photo of neon artwork. The artwork depicts a rainbow in bright colors, with text that reads
Animated image quickly cycles through various translated editions of Adam's book
Photograph of retail display that showcases a range of Adam's books and merchandise.

Now again but more human:

Originally from Toronto, I spent a decade in New York before moving to Honolulu with my husband and we finally adopted a dog which is BIG for us. Michelle Branch's The Spirit Room is a top tier album for me. I was previously the studio designer at ad agency Barton F. Graf and some other stuff. I don't have a whole big team – and I made this website myself.

I'm a creative person who has been making and sharing on the internet since my first fan website at twelve years old. After years of expressing myself online, I went to school for graphic design and learned to express myself slightly "too much" in more tangible forms.

My imperfect illustrative work embraces the world with "backhanded optimism" and a dark sense of humor. I'm hopeful but realistic. I'm "positivity-adjacent." I’m interested in the ephemera of daily life, a nice little thing that makes you feel better for some reason (that paper you keep in your wallet for three years) and creating honest, accessible work.

Many people call me Adam JK because of my initials and then it became the name of my Legal Business Entity® and yeah idk I'm goofy so it works.

I self-published an annual paper planner called Unsolicited Advice for twelve years. It's a project that got to be a small part of so many lives in a very special way. In 2023, a final "forever-ish" edition was released by Penguin Random House.

Thank you for visiting my website and feel free to reach out with any fun creative projects!

Visual Storytelling

Interview with Debbie Millman

Clients Include
Abrams Books, Adobe, American Express, Brooklyn Public Library, Chronicle Books, Dr. Martens, Fishs Eddy, HP, Instagram, L'Oreal, Mailchimp, Michelle Branch, Microsoft, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Penguin Random House, PepsiCo, Sharpie, T-Mobile, Urban Outfitters, Vans

Select Speaking & Events
99U Conference, Adobe MAX, AGDA Tour, Creative Works, DesignThinkers, Etsy, Facebook, Google, HOW Live, ICA/Boston, MICA, MoMA, NGV Melbourne, OCADU, OFFF, Pratt, RISD, SFMOMA, Shopify, Twitter, Wix, and plenty of other internal teams, schools, and spaces  •  More Info