When you been at it as long as Scott has, you are either good or lucky. Scott has never relied on luck.
As the industry changed over his 25-plus years in the business, Scott Cullins rolled with the punches and adapted to new technology and new endeavors in print (e.g., magazines, advertising, marketing collateral, outdoor, etc.) and digital (web, digital advertising, video, eBooks, etc.).
Let’s start from the top.
A History in Publishing
After a start in product design, much of Scott’s early career was in publishing. Over his career, he held full-time roles with titles like Bon Appétit magazine and Salt Lake magazine, published his own titles, and worked as a media consultant. As such, Scott is at ease developing editorial content for consumer and B2B publications across many domains.
Salt Lake Magazine
Scott was Creative Director for JES Publishing (Salt Lake magazine, Utah Style & Design Magazine), from 2012-2016, when Comic Con (now FanX) launched in Salt Lake City. Scott was tasked with connecting Salt Lake Magazine’s gentrified audience with a not-so-traditional cosplay event. His solution was to morph the cover into a comic book. And yes, that’s Comic Sans on the cover. From photo art direction to design to copy, Scott plays a hands-on role whenever possible.
Media Consulting
As a media consultant, Scott helped dozens of media startups launch titles like Chopper Build and Pipeline magazines (see below). Scott’s expertise includes design, editorial planning & management, writing, print production and newsstand distribution.
See more samples of Scott’s magazine work.
Marketing & Advertising
Knowing that high-end publishing opportunities in Los Angeles were scarce, Scott diversified and moved into the world of Marketing and advertising—taking on senior corporate roles, contracting with small agencies and consulting.
One of his clients included Utah-based SIRQ Construction. Scott designed the company’s primary collateral and helped solidify the company’s brand by developing a tagline and re-writing existing key copy to clarify the company’s unique market position.
For Park City-based Avi-on Labs, Scott developed go-to-market strategies and collateral for the company’s line of bluetooth lighting controls. Deliverables included videos, press communications, social media, B2B ad consumer collateral, product spec sheets and management of stakeholder events and more.
Digital
Scott finds digital design refreshing…like a breath of fresh air. Much of Scott’s digital advertising experience comes in the past 8 years working with Arena Communications as a contractor and eventually a FT employee. The agency is political, but Scott finds ways to make light of the mostly-serious subject matter by creating eye-catching social media graphics and programatic ads with copy that resonates with all.
Photography
Armed with his tiny Canon M6 mirrorless camera, an eye for balance and framing, and no small skill with Photoshop and Lightroom—Scott gets amazing reproduction results with photography. This shot of a Moscow Mule was taken with his old Nikon DSLR in the alley behind Salt Lake City’s Bar X. Scott took the shot for a story Utah Style & Design magazine…just a few hours before the issue was sent to prepress. No pressure.
Publishing Entrepreneur
Scott has published several of his own print and web publications through the years. One of these properties is WasatchRider, a site he developed to share his passion for mountain biking lifestyle and trail advocacy. Knowing how to make his way around a WordPress GUI, and armed with a small amount of HTML and CSS, Scott has been able to create
From about 2005-2009, Scott developed and published the bi-annual Teton Valley Idaho visitors guide (below). The first edition of this publication was awarded Idaho’s Best Tourism Publication, by the Idaho Department of Commerce.
Technical Illustration
Before Scott graduated from architectural school, he had been planning a career in technical illustration. He recently tapped those experiences to help him create this architectural rendering for a Park City, UT-based architectural client.
Packaging
Scott designed the cereal box (below) for a Santa Monica, CA-based studio producing a Swedish television commercial. Scott’s packaging experience includes food product labeling for Trader Joe’s in Southern California.
More Samples
This is a small sampling of Scott’s work. If you’d like to see more samples and/or chat about an upcoming project, contact Scott here.