Here at Rule29 we’ve had a house guest of late and while he’s been working away on his own project he graciously accepted our offer of covering the blog this week (Granted it was in exchange for desk space)

From the desk of Victor:

Have you ever driven by an office building, business, or home and wondered what happens inside?

Rule29 is one of those inconspicuous spaces. Residing in Geneva IL, their office is nothing more than a remodeled, two story, Georgian home with a nifty number sign in the lawn. You would never guess that within it’s walls, people light things on fire, break appendages, become basketball stars and change the world for the better.

But that’s precisely what happens (well…kinda).

You see, I was one of those random people that used to be on the outside looking in. I’m not a designer, I’m not a client, and my education puts me nowhere near this highly talented team. However, my passion for business, design, and social change made me curious about this little home with the nifty number sign in Geneva, Illinois.

So, roughly one year ago, I ventured into this place to see what it was all about. I was met by the man with the ever present grin. They call him Justin. Actually, that’s what I call him too. He’s also referred to as J, Uncle Justin, and a slew of other names that I can’t mention here. Justin is a busy man with a vibrant family, a book deal, and countless world-changing commitments so I was nervous to ‘steal’ any time with him on that fall day. We chatted about our dreams, our heroes, our faith, and our frustrations. His heart for good design and doing good kicked the dreamer right into me, and a friendship was quickly formed.
Since then, we’ve shared countless conversations and have even worked together on various projects; but, that’s not all.

You see, throughout that time, I’ve gotten to know the steallar team behind Rule29.

They’re even graciously allowing me  to share an office space while I work on a project. This means that, I get a front row seat into Tim’s sneaker brilliance, Kerri’s inability to pronounce Chihuahua, Susan’s love for heels, Andy’s marriage proposal techniques, Dawn’s noise making skills, Katrina’s whip-cracking abilities, Brian and Cheech’s looming iChat presence, and the fact that Bob is just always well Bob. Not to mention that Sarah (Justin’s wife), is the invisible powerhouse for the firm — and far more honest than Justin…

More importantly, I can now say that I have met some of the most inviting people on the planet. They’re quick to bring me ‘inside’ the Rule29 world. Whether it’s lunch dates or random brainstorming conversations, I’ve come to feel right at home walking through that finicky door and up those oddly narrow stairs.  Even though they may not totally understand why I’m around or what I’m doing, they have kindly invited me into their space.

Perhaps, this is my biggest learning from the Rule29 team thus far. They work and live in such a way that there is no ‘outside looking in’ or ‘inside looking out.’ The way they setup their work space, joke around with the UPS guy, hold outings with fellow firms (Grip & Faust), and the way they treat this random desk-occuyping-Egyptian…all of it is about an invitation. An invitation to wonder, attempt, struggle, fail, celebrate, and to do so openly with those around you.

So, thanks Rule29 for that invitation and the inside view — and for the lesson that good work and good life is not about being on the inside or the outside, it’s about being on the side with good people.

LEO,
v

Victor Saad is one of the founders of The Prop and is currently embarking on an 18 month adventure called The Leap Year Project We highly suggest you check out both a give him a follow @victorsaad He’s a pretty awesome guy.

It’s no secret that we designers (and other people with desk jobs) sit a lot. Upwards of 10 hours a day for most people if you count commute and maybe a little TV or additional computer time. And the fact is that, as our secret hunches tell us, sitting isn’t so good for us. A large-scale study by the American Cancer Society and a compilation of other research by MedicalBillingAndCoding.org show some pretty sobering statistics about the long-term toll sitting takes on human bodies. And both of these studies show that exercise doesn’t necessarily offset the risks of long periods of sitting (another excuse to skip the gym in the morning?).

But let’s not be a Debbie Downer…let’s talk about what we can do about it! After reading the studies above as well as receiving a few kind suggestions from my doctor, I started researching some lifestyle changes that would help. I stumbled on the GeekDesk – a motorized adjustable desk that goes from sitting to standing height at the push of a button. The adjustable height feature is important because standing for 10 hours isn’t exactly easy, so a strictly standing desk wouldn’t work (at least for me). I just received the desk a week ago and have been loving it so far. Assembly was easy and I was up and running in no time.

Desk at sitting height:

Desk at standing height:

If you decide to try an adjustable desk, there are a few fun tools to help you track your standing stamina. Standing Clock is a Google-based interface that lets you track your time spent standing. So far I’ve been standing between 3-5 hours a day, and plan to increase that time to 6 or 7 hours within a month. The only big change I’ve made to use this desk is slipping on a pair of comfy shoes for the standing portions of the day. Overall I am loving the experience and will report back in a month to let you all know how it goes.

What do you think? Would you like the option to stand for part of your workday? Any other suggestions for developing a healthy workspace? We’d love to hear your ideas.

When I was in 3rd grade, one of my favorite things in the world was board games. It was the go-to activity when friends came over. And it was the go-to request for birthdays and holidays.

On December 29th 1983, four days after Christmas, my house burned to the ground after a freak explosion with our furnace. Fortunately, no one was at home during the fire; however, we did lose most of our possessions obviously – including all of my games, some of which I had just received a few days prior.

Because the incident took place during Christmas break, I did not see most of my school friends until school resumed roughly two weeks later. I’ll never forget walking into class my first day back. It was different. I had been living in a hotel for the past 12 days or so and was not even sure anyone was aware of what had happened. I remember no one really asking me about it as the class began that day. My teacher, Mrs. Lowe, began to teach like always and I assumed everything was back to normal. Then, she shifted gears all of a sudden as she began speaking directly to me. I was caught off guard.

“Robert, our class was very sad to hear what happened with your house this Christmas. We understand that one of your favorite things to do is play games. We want you to know that your entire class has decided to pitch in to give you a new game collection in light of what happened to your house.”

As they revealed an entire table that was filled with twice as many games than I had originally, I was stunned and left speechless.

This is one of my first memories of someone(s) doing something for me simply out of love and generosity. It was nice to receive. But more importantly, it was life changing to see what it means to give. Read the rest of the entry >

Andy, our newest intern started this week. As is tradition, the R29 staff bombarded him with a bunch of questions in the interview process and his first couple of days at the Rule29 office. We also figured that some of our R29 friends might have a few questions for him as well so we opened up the floor and asked “What do you want to know about Andy?” on Facebook and Twitter. We’ve compiled some of the best questions and answers to give you a better idea of who is this mystery intern. Read the rest of the entry >

If you tried to call or email the R29 offices this past Thursday and Friday you might have noticed that it was a lot quieter around here than usual. That is because this past Thursday and Friday the R29 family packed their bags and took a brief hiatus up to the lovely land of Appleton, Wisconsin to hang out with some of our favorite people from Appleton Coated.
Read the rest of the entry >