Scott Kirkwood
Scott Kirkwood is a freelance copywriter and creative director in Denver, with a focus on nonprofits and “do gooder” brands. His editorial work has appeared in Communication Arts, Eye on Design, HOW, and Modern in Denver.
Firing Your Most Lucrative Client, and Eight Other Crazy Career Changes That Were Ultimately Great Moves
We asked some of our favorite designers and illustrators to walk us through a time when they drastically altered their course—from launching an agency to quitting a dream job without a plan.
When Your Non-design Hobby Becomes Your Hustle
Every designer has a side project, but there’s a huge, yawning chasm between the vast empire of Swiss Miss and that Etsy shop you abandoned back in 2012. Meet a few designers turning their hobbies into full-blown businesses.
No Clients, No Deadlines—Welcome to the Hell of Redesigning Your Own Website
You will make mistakes. You may waste time, and you may waste money. And you’ll probably argue over quite a few things that don’t really matter all that much.
Have We Got a Design Award For You
I think we can all agree that you are uniquely talented. And yet, how often does anyone acknowledge it?
After the Nightmare Project: Lessons Learned
Top-notch creatives relive their own project nightmares, in the hope of sparing you a few sleepless nights.
Connecting the Dots: Why Tech Brands Are Embracing Illustration
Some of the world’s leading tech brands are defined by one of the oldest art forms—illustration. Creatives at Dropbox, Slack, and Shopify tell us why.
Grape Expectations: The Transformation of Wine Labels
Just a few years ago, most bottles of vino featured label designs that you might describe as “vintage”—and not in a good way. But things have changed. 99U heads to wine country to find out what’s behind this recent evolution.
Step Back in Time with Ebbets Field Flannels’ Vintage Jerseys
A small company in Seattle captures baseball’s design history one stitch at a time.
Skin in the Game
As more design firms partner with startups and accept equity in exchange for their skills, it’s time for a closer look at the pitfalls and the payoffs of that arrangement.
Take Back Your Weekends (and Leave the Work at Work)
Over the last 20 years, more and more Americans have surrendered their weekends to the workplace—and technology keeps making it easier to do. The surprising news? It’s not improving our work.
Turning Hand-Painted Ads into Social Media Magnets
Colossal Media uses old-school artistry to draw millions of eyeballs to big brands, from Nike to Netflix. How do they do it?
How Sophisticated Branding Aims to Make You Rethink Cannabis
As the marijuana industry begins to mature, purveyors recognize the need to separate themselves with distinct branding. The hand-painted signs, bad puns, and Rastafarian flags that once defined the industry are giving way to sophisticated design that abandons aging stoners in favor of more upscale clientele.