It’s Christmas time and your scouring the Sears catalog circling everything you want/need for Christmas from your parents. And then there it is, the ultimate present… The Omnibot 2000. It’s almost like it’s meant for you, right? Except for the fact that in 1984 it was retailing at $600.

Alright, now come back to reality, it’s 2011 and there is no such thing as a Sears catalog, there is a Target on every corner and an occasional Toys R Us. For a moment there I thought that I was really missing out on this decade’s toy selection. But now, as I look back on what is really going on in the land of toys, I realize that I have never been so wrong.

Recently I got my brother’s old Tomy 2000 Robot up and running and had this realization. He got this gift in 1984, when it was the hottest toy around. This puppy has been in seclusion in a corner of my basement for years, going through multiple floods, numerous moves, dropped, neglected, and ultimately forgotten. Read the rest of the entry >

Rule29 was honored with the opportunity to create the 2nd annual report for Life In Abundance. LIA is helping to rewrite the tragic stories that typically come out of Sub-Saharan Africa. Through the organization’s work, new stories are emerging: communities are learning how to take care of themselves, locals are learning new skills, children are attending new schools, micro-financing programs are enabling individuals to start businesses, and communities are gaining the resources to take care of each other and reduce the spread of an uneducated populace. All in all, LIA is empowering change in the only way that matters (in our opinion) – through the creation of a holistic, sustainable model that brings permanent change to the communities affected.

This 2009 annual report, entitled “Empowering Change”, features articles and stories from 4 countries and surrounding areas that highlighted the struggles of each country, as well as powerful stories about incredible individuals that live there. Showing the actual empowerment of the surrounding communities was key in creating a successful piece. Through compelling stories and vivid photography (taken by our good friend Brian MacDonald), a very successful and enlightening piece was created.

For the cover, stylistically, we wanted to draw the viewer in with an incredible shot of the slums, partially from a distance. The large type that is rising from the horizon line was chosen to simulate the initiative to actually empower change within these communities. Throughout the annual there are 3 stories that feature hand written type on rough paper texture in order to remind us that these stories are coming from real people in the slums.

Life In Abundance now uses this powerful piece to highlight some of the remarkable work they do in Africa to donors, and their supporters.

How do you empower change?

For the last Creative Matters installment for 2010, we wanted to go out with some fun. This edition shows some of our latest online competitions, a cool new “custom design” handbag company, some new brand and cause related design, and one of our favorite web projects of the year. But don’t take our word for it – download now. Go grab your Santa mug, pour some egg nog, and take a peek.

:: Click here to download Creative Matters 26 ::

As with previous Creative Matters, please download the interactive PDF to click your way through via each hotlink, or simply scroll through it page by page (best viewed with the latest version of Acrobat Reader).

New things and creative reminders:

Check out our newly launched Rule29 Store and R29 Shorts pages

Don’t forget you can still “BE IN CHARGE”

And as our 10th year comes to a close, take another stroll down memory lane with the Rule29 TEN x TEN anniversary site currently highlighting ten projects from every year between 2000-2010.

We hope you enjoy the new newsletter, this holiday season, and have an amazing close to 2010!

Thanks,

The design monkeys from Rule29

Recently I took a road trip across the great United States to the one and only capital, Washington DC. I went with the AIGA group through my school Northern Illinois University. Why DC you ask? First, because I am oh-so patriotic and love this great nation, but mostly because we were invited down by an NIU alumni who currently works in the design department for the White House. So it gave us a good excuse to visit the White House as well as some other design firms in the area.
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Appointed as Intern #18 (and self-appointed Chief Safety Officer), I feel extremely privileged to be a part of the R29 team. With the summer now officially over, there are a lot of moments that stand out from the past few months. Everything from creating awesome work with everybody on the R29 team to humorous moments around the office.

Design-wise, I was able to work on a wide variety of projects such as Life In Abundance’s annual report and oversize brochure, R29′s new Creative Matters, logo style guides for various clients, and a brochure for RichWrap, to name a few. Having a few designers here to work with on different projects has proved to be extremely advantageous, as it has allowed me to learn multiple ways to approach situations and problems.

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