A little about me

Hi, my name is Brian Kurklin. Here are some things about me: I’m an Eagle Scout, a former Thunder season ticket member for the last 12 seasons, a man of faith, a movie buff, and a knower of useless trivia. My favorite word is Atlatl, my favorite color is blue, and my favorite smell is petrichor. I grew up listening to 50’s and 60’s music and still think it doesn’t get much better than that. Although, I love a little bit of everything. I love to travel and always have a new destination in mind. So far, I love Italy, Ireland, Iceland, and other countries that don’t start with “I.” I’m married to the most amazing woman, Shelby, and we have two adorable Pomeranians named Eloise and Princess. We built our dream house and are excited to see how those dreams come to fruition over the years as we continue to make this beautiful house our home.

I have two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma. It was during pursuit of my first degree, in Entrepreneurship and Venture Management from Price College of Business, that I identified my passion for design. Growing up, I always enjoyed drawing and designing things for friends and family. But, as I found myself designing logos for all of my invented companies for business school projects, it occurred to me that starting a graphic design business is what I wanted to do. So, after graduating Summa Cum Laude with my Bachelor of Business Administration, I returned to OU to pursue my second bachelor’s degree, in Visual Communication.

During the summer between junior and senior year, I took an internship with a small graphic design firm in Yukon, Oklahoma, 1260 Productions. It was a great opportunity to learn about running a small studio, working with clients, and managing projects. Following my graduation with my Bachelor of Fine Arts, I was hired on at 1260. At the end of that summer, finances at the company necessitated me to look for other opportunities.

Talking with one of my friends from art school led to us deciding to launch our own venture. In September 2014, we began work on our company, Sedulous Design, LLC. Juston, my business partner, found a job for his primary income, while I worked to grow the business. Slowly, we began to acquire clients and produce some great work. Businesses don’t grow to maturity overnight, but Sedulous Design was starting to take root.

Fast forward to January of 2018. I met Shelby and fell madly in love. I proposed in June and we were married in January on the first anniversary of our first date. With the prospects of starting a new family, it became evident that my runway for Sedulous Design had significantly shortened. I moved Sedulous Design onto the back burner and looked for a steady paycheck. I found much more than that at Good Shepherd Hospice.

I became their Director of Graphic Design at Good Shepherd Hospice in December of 2018 and have grown along with the company. When I started, we had 17 locations. We are now at 28 with more on the way. Along the way I have grown the role and responsibilities of my position, added new team members to the department, revamped all of the marketing collateral, training manuals, forms, business cards, signage and everything in between. My work with Good Shepherd has allowed me to bring so many of my life experiences together to create great work for a great company. My visual communication degree obviously translated immediately, but I have been able to utilize my business education to streamline production processes, cut departmental costs, improve productivity, and analyze data trends. My personal experience with hospice care for my mother and grandmother allowed me to have a greater understanding of the importance of hospice care and how to visually translate these benefits of receiving hospice care to potential patients, their families and loved ones, as well as physicians and hospitals with which we work closely. My training in Boy Scouts and in leadership roles within my church prepared me to manage multiple projects and manage people effectively, creating a collaborative and productive work environment within the Graphic Design department that we try to spread throughout the company.

Working at Good Shepherd has been fulfilling, knowing that the work I have done has led to more families getting to spend irreplaceable time with their loved ones while our patients receive the compassionate and dignified care that they deserve as they come to the end of their life. For more than three years, Good Shepherd has been a great place to work. I'm grateful for my time there, but I am ready to start the next chapter in my life and am looking for new opportunities. If you think I might be a good fit for your company, I would love to hear from you. I know that I have a lot to offer and am excited to find a new team with which to collaborate on some amazing work.