Adam J. Kurtz’s Instagram page is giving us the feels. The designer, author, illustrator, creative director, writer, and smallpress-brand (or you can just call him an artist) has a backhanded optimism and a dark sense of humor, which he sprinkles across his varied creations.
With his books having been translated into over a dozen languages and his work featured in the New Yorker, VICE, Adweek and more, his sincerity clearly speaks volumes. “I’m hopeful but realistic,” he writes on his website. “I’m interested in the ephemera of daily life, cute little things, and creating honest, accessible work. But more than anything I want to have fun, even if I’m part of the joke.”
“Knowing that life is difficult, and that you can’t control things, allows you to make informed, but also really open-ended, choices,” he adds in an interview with The Great Discontent. “The phrase ‘things are what you make of them,’ comes up in my work all of the time, because it’s literally my guiding voice; both in my personal and professional life. It’s helped keep me going, but I think it’s also helped keep me safe.”
“People are always saying how vulnerable I am, and I think, Am I? The truth is, a lot of us are really vulnerable. In real-life conversations, or in a 2am tweet. I don’t think I’m any more honest or vulnerable than anyone else,” he admits.
His vulnerability also comes across his art and stationery brand, focused on gifts that are fun, weird, sentimental, and often literal, which you can find anywhere from Urban Outfitters to MoMA Design Store.
You can also follow his work on Instagram, which we highly recommend you do.
