Today we welcome the newest addition to the R29 family. Lauren Bert is our new intern, coming to us all the way from the Quad Cities. We welcomed Lauren, as we normally do, with a thorough interrogation to learn all about her.

How many cups of coffee can you carry at one time?
I have only carried 4 in the past, but something tells me that I’m gonna have to learn how to carry around 8 really soon. I’m dreaming big.

Where do you go to school?
I am a visual communication major at Northern Illinois University in beautiful DeKalb, and I have one year left.

Favorites:
Color? Green. I tend to gravitate towards all things green.
Activity? When I get free time, I really like to read or draw.
Food? I love Italian food. I often wish I had an Italian grandma who would cook me all sorts of good food. I also really love Mexican food.
Animal? The three-toed sloth. There is not a single animal that is as hilarious and interesting as the sloth.
Movie? Bull Durham is a favorite of mine because it combines baseball and humor, two of my favorite pastimes. On the completely opposite side of the spectrum, Wizard of Oz has been a favorite of mine since childhood.
Book? Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer

Worst pet peeves?
I don’t like when people crack their knuckles. I also don’t like feet. They are gross.

Haven’t you always wanted to star in R29 shorts?
Of course. How’d you know?

What started your interest in design?
When I was younger, I had a passion for drawing. As I grew older, I would see posters, books, etc. that I would find visually interesting and some things that I felt were not well designed, and it made me really want to create things that were not only visually interesting, but served a purpose and were meaningful.

If you could be any type of penguin, what type of penguin would you be and why?
There are different kinds of penguins? I think this is part of Craig’s evil plan to get me to check out allaboutpenguins.info. After some research, I would have to say the Galapagos penguin.

If you weren’t a designer, what occupation would you be doing?
I would have to say a physical therapist because I went to school for that for a couple years.

Any crazy piercings/tattoos?
No tattoos, too permanent for me. One piercing in each of my ears, and one in my nose. I guess that is as crazy as it gets.

Have any pets?
A cat at my parents home. I really wish I could have a dog, but I can’t right now. In a few years, I’ll probably have like five.

Please welcome the new intern to Rule29 with us and drop us a comment in the section below!

We love books here at Rule29 and believe that they matter. In addition to designing them, we’re avid readers. We’ve asked everyone in the office to identify their last-read book and include a short review of it.

Kerri: When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris. David Sedaris is hilarious in an awkwardly witty way. His stories are a collection of an inner dialog that is interested in just about everything going on around him. When You Are Engulfed in Flames partially focuses on his efforts to quit smoking…the other half of the book talks about everything from sadistic skeletons to pompous cab drivers.

I would recommend this book if you are need of some candy reading or just want to see the world slightly askew. He can be somewhat crass at times so read at your own risk.

The Shack, by William P. Young. The story is about a man who is struggling with his faith and with his family due to the horrific event of his daughter’s death. One day he receives a mysterious note from God inviting him to the place his daughter was murdered. He decides to go and so begins a beautifully complex story about how God can meet us in our darkest places and continually love us through our stubbornness and hurt.

Really enjoyed this creative look into what a relationship with God could look like. Well written though sometimes wordy in explanations of ideas, I thought that for the most part it was clear and incredibly engaging. The writer presents many bold theological ideas that whether you agree or disagree will definitely make you think. I would recommend it everyone.

Justin: Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. This book is by two Forrester analysts with practical, data-based strategies for companies that want to harness the power of social technologies like blogs, social networks, and YouTube. Featuring 25 full case studies, a complete road map for social strategy, and data from around the world this book is a must read for anyone….on earth.
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Over the past few months here at Rule29, we’ve been enjoying and studying up on new world of Augmented Reality. We shared our first interaction with Augmented Reality with you in February, which was a 3d smart grid complete with solar panels and wind turbines. Since then, Augmented Reality applications have been popping up like mad. Here’s a short list of some of our favorites that you can play with right now!

Living Sasquatch, allows you to create and watch a 3d Sasquatch and generate your very own movie clip of the elusive fella.

Boffswana’s little green monster, fulfills our desire of having a cute three eyed monster living on our desk.

Toyota iQ, brings Toyota’s compact car iQ to life, see it either racing down your desk or being disassembled so you can see all the intricate parts that comprise it.

Desktop Fireworks!, we had to use our ninja skills (Google) to translate this one properly, but once you print out the marker visit this site press the space bar for 3d fireworks action.

Join Starfleet Academy, allows trekkies to create a 3d video delivery system and check out out the trailer for the upcoming movie in 3d.

What’s your favorite use of this new technology? Do you think Augmented Reality is an effective way to create a buzz? Let us know in the comments section.

Here at Rule29 we like to cook and one of the perks of our new office is a full fledged kitchen. There’s nothing like whipping up a good healthy meal or snack throughout the day. A full tummy is a happy tummy. We do our best to keep the kitchen stocked.

A favorite snack around the office is fresh baked cookies. They make the office smell wonderful and are a truly delicious snack. A great cookie recipe that will make any dieter give up their celery is the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies. (Can I get a triple “YUM!”?)

While homemade cookies are the way to go, it does tend to take up more of your precious and hard-to-come-by time. A much faster way is to purchase cookie dough. Then you can make cookies whenever you want! Or if you are sans an oven just wander downtown Geneva to Moveable Feast to pick up some Fudgey Brownies (a favorite of Oprah)

For more cooking fun check out the pics from last weeks Iron Chef Competition between Rule29, Grip Design, Faust Design, and Appleton. Video soon to come.

Got any tasty snacks you like to enjoy? Share the love! Let us know your favorites.

It’s always exciting to find out new things about friends. Whether it’s a new story or a hidden talents, it is fun to see people you’ve known for a long time in a new light. This was our experience last week when our good pal, J.J. Peterson from Life in Abundance flew in from Cali to discuss our upcoming trip to Africa for the LIA documentary. Amongst the planning and prep work we discovered that somewhere along the line in his fabulous life, J.J. danced in a Missy Elliot video with Missy Elliot. “Oh ya, me too. What?!” was pretty much our response. Little did we know we had quite the star in our midst! So for your Monday enjoyment, feel free to take a break and enjoy as our pal gets schooled by Miss Elliot herself! (He’s the guy in the DDR scene.) Watch at your own risk

Let us know of any other hidden celebrities out there.