

General Inquiries
studio@adamjk.com
Partnerships & Speaking
victoria.bachan@whalar.com
Wholesale
BuyOlympia
Adam J. Kurtz (aka Adam JK) is a designer, artist, and speaker whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty, humor and a little darkness. His books have sold over a million copies in seventeen languages and his offbeat creative work has been featured in NYLON, Adweek, Vice, The New Yorker, and more.
Kurtz speaks frankly about channeling human emotion into creative work, and generally just trying to be more okay with whatever we've got. His most recent book, You Are Here (For Now), is a collection of art and essays about finding your way through the unknown.
ADAMJK® is an art and stationery brand focused on gifts that are fun, weird, sentimental, and often literal. This body of accessible artwork has been sold everywhere from museum gift shops to mass retail.


About me (but in first person)
Originally from Toronto, I spent a decade in New York before moving to Honolulu with my husband. I sunburn easily. I love bread. I smile at dogs. I know every word to Michelle Branch's The Spirit Room. I’ve previously held creative positions at Barton F. Graf and others. 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, which is the name of my Legal Business Entity® and like, my username so I think it's fine.
I don't have it all figured out, but if you can live a relatively-happy, creative life of making art that helps yourself and others, that's pretty fucking cool.
Interviews & Press
The Great Discontent, FLUX, Tumblr, Brooklyn Mag, ADWEEK, The Creative Independent, Artsy, Bustle, VICE, Forbes, NYLON, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, PAPER, Us Weekly, CNBC, Ms. Magazine, Inc, BookPage
Podcasts & Video
NPR, Design Matters, and many podcasts, video from 99U, Skillshare, Tumblr, Brooklyn Mag
Awards
Webby Nominee, PRINT 15 Under 30, Brooklyn Mag 30 Under 30, HOW 100
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



