Larry Luk ’99

When considering alumni who have mastered Fort Worth Country Day’s famed 3A’s (academics, arts and athletics), Larry Luk ’99 tops the list. The Vice President of Creative for AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE), Luk found a perfect way to marry his love of learning and creating with the arts and athletics. In his role, Luk oversees creative for the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But he didn’t always know it was possible to combine his love of design and sports. 

When Luk’s family was visiting schools in 1992 to determine where their son would attend, Luk remembers FWCD’s campus standing out. As a rising sixth grader who loved to draw from a young age, Luk said, “[I] was looking for a place where I could see myself in the art room,” and remembers thinking that of all the schools his family visited, Country Day looked like the most fun place to make art. It turned out he was right. Luk later recalled how one of his art teachers, Lelia Koeppe, “helped me realize what I was capable of [artistically] and provided me with a safe environment to be creative and have fun.” In addition to art class, Luk was a member of the orchestra and expressed gratitude for the way the School allowed him to split his time and participate in both art classes and the orchestra, even though the traditional Upper School schedule did not allow for it at the time. 

Luk was also an athlete, competing in cross country and soccer. A sports fan, Luk cheered on the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys and later became an Atlanta Braves fan. When it came time to apply to college, his love of the Braves lured him to Atlanta, where he attended Emory University. Initially, he planned to study business, but ultimately changed to the liberal arts. 

After college, he attended the Portfolio Center (now the Miami Ad School). Eventually, he worked at a print shop, where he helped print large-scale advertisements and billboards for companies like Coca-Cola and events like the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. The designs he was printing inspired him to wonder, “How do I get to make this work?” Those thoughts led to his first Creative Director role for a New York firm that represented Major League Soccer. Similar to his musings at the print shop, when he was a kid watching his favorite teams play, he also took note of their uniforms. “When I was a kid, I wanted to design uniforms for sports teams, and I get to do that now,” Luk said. 

Since 2022, Luk has led a team of 17 at AMBSE: Graphic Designers and Photographers. He says it is “invigorating to work with other creatives where I can share my stories and invest in their futures.” Luk is honored to have the opportunity to provide both creative stewardship for the brands and to serve as a creative mentor to his team. “When I was going to Country Day, I was so interested in the arts, and it was a great place to explore that, but I didn’t know that you could work in sports making art. I didn’t know there was a whole world of design needed in sports.” Now, having the chance to bring his love of typography and letterforms to his work in creating the new jersey numbers, roster font, and overall design of the Atlanta Falcons uniforms, for example, feels like a dream come true. “Getting to work on something that the teams wear on the field and that the fans buy is amazing,” he said.

With a strong foundation in art and the ability to pursue his varied interests while a student at FWCD, Luk has proven that as long as you stay curious, there are many ways to pursue your dreams, and you don’t always have to sacrifice one for the other. And, as Creative Director for the Atlanta Falcons, he’s found a way to give new meaning to “forever a Falcon!”