Nobody said being an "artist type" was going to be easy! So let's talk about it.
Perfect Isn't Better
The often humorous, sometimes dark work of the artist known as "Adam JK" can be seen everywhere from tote bags to enamel pins to his books on creativity.
Yet the prolific Kurtz doesn’t claim to be an expert: in this uproarious talk from the 99U Conference, he offers some useful panaceas to the pressures of creative perfection.
Who The F*** Do You Think You Are?
More of an intention-setting exercise than a traditional tutorial, Personal Brand Manifesto is a 30 minute work-along art therapy project that will help you hone in on what's actually important to you as a person first, so you have a solid foundation to draw personal inspiration from.
Join thousands people who have done this with me!
In Conversation
A series of ten conversations between friends about passion, purpose, creativity, and finding your way inspired by You Are Here (For Now).
Featuring Chani Nicholas, Ashley C. Ford, Michelle Branch, Alexander Chee, Tavi Gevinson, Jenna Wortham, Mitchell Kuga, and more.
Booking Information
After years of attending creative conferences, my favorite talks are a mix of story, behind-the-scenes process, lessons learned, and a call to action.
Like the rest of my creative work, the goal is to communicate directly while keeping the tone personal, useful, and realistic.
"Adam lit up the main stage with his unique energy — a perfect storm of his strong personal vision, deep empathy, and incredible senses of timing and humor."
“Adam completely embodies the spirit of his work, and brought incredible energy and authenticity to our conference’s main stage.”
"One of the most fun, inspiring and genuine talks we’ve had. Adam’s ability to captivate an audience and bring it all home makes me wish we saved him for last."
Select speaking history:
99U Conference • Ace Hotel • Adobe MAX (x5) • Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) Tour • AIGA NY • Big Cartel • CSCA • Creative Mornings NYC • Creative Works Conference (x2) • DC Design Week • The Design Conference (TDC) • Design Fabric Festival • Etsy • Facebook • GIPHY • Google • Graphika Manila • Hootsuite • HOW Design Live • ICA/Boston • ICON Conference • Kettle • The LINE Hotel • Mailchimp • MassArt • MICA • Minted • NGV Melbourne • OCAD University • OFFF Barcelona (x2) • OFFF Mexico City • Pratt • RGD DesignThinkers • RISD • SFMOMA • Shopify • Shopify Commerce+ • TRImarchi DG • Twitter • Vans Artist Tour • VenturePOP • VF Corp • Wix • YouTube • and even more creative teams, schools, conferences, etc…