Alumnus' image goes viral in support of Colorado flood victims

As flood waters began to consume parts of Colorado on the morning of Sept. 12, Illustration alumnus Scott Brooks (CCAD 1999) turned to his passion for art to create an image in support of family and friends caught up in the disaster. What began as a Facebook profile picture created to “put a smile on their faces and bring a sense of hope,” Brooks says, quickly drew attention of its own.

Brooks’ image, the iconic letter C from the Colorado state flag encompassed by a heart and shielded from rain overhead by an umbrella, has gone viral. The image began popping up all over Facebook, Brooks says, in profile pictures and cover photos and was even shown during a segment on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Now a symbol for statewide recovery efforts, the image also made way for a new non profit called the Great Colorado Flood Relief Project.

The organization sells T-shirts and stickers bearing the image—an endeavor that has raised more than $75,000 in gross proceeds since its creation and developed quite a following on Facebook (63,000 likes, to be exact).

Though Brooks is excited about the popularity of his image, his original intent was, and still is, to deliver healing through his art.

“One of my favorite classes at CCAD was art therapy,” Brooks says. “I use [art] as a kind of coping mechanism when it hits so close to home.”

Brooks lives in Littleton, CO and owns DrawBrooks Studios, an animation, illustration, and design studio.

Brooks is a native of Boulder, CO and went to high school at Fairview High School.