Sam Carlson

Location

Austin, Texas

Portfolio

https://www.samuelrcarlson.com/

One-sentence bio

Sam is a copywriter graduating from the BYU Adlab who loves chocolate milk and random koala facts.

Creative philosophy or approach

There’s always another idea. And it’s usually a better one. This is what I tell myself when I feel stuck with brainstorming, concepting, ideating, writing, editing, and every other “ing.” There’s always more, and trusting that pushes me to work for it. And when I do that, I feel like the idea reveals itself. That’s obviously not always the case, but I’ll leave it at that so it sounds more magical.

Recent work I’m proud of

My Handimoji project is a favorite for personal reasons. I spent a few years volunteering within the Deaf community, and I became familiar with their culture, community, and what it’s like for them living in a hearing world. They deal with a lot of exclusion, and though not intentional or malicious, it’s a reality. This project aims to change that, using modern technology as the catalyst. We brought our central idea to life visually, and then developed an entire campaign around that idea. The coolest part was seeing this project so positively received by the Deaf community.

Link to campaign: https://www.samuelrcarlson.com/handimoji

Recent work I admired

The Spotify “Listen Like You Used To” campaign is a new favorite. Each one is too clever not to love and too relatable not to laugh at. I think my favorite part is the simplicity: two years, two juxtaposed lines. And that’s it. That’s all it takes to get the idea. The visuals compliment instead of complicate and it just all works together. It’s consistent with the Spotify tone, and it’s something that I wish I had made.