The first music video I ever saw was Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It was 1983 and I was eight. I was over at a friend’s house watching the hour-or-so long documentary that played prior to Thriller’s premiere. In fact, I remember more about the “behind-the-scenes” feature than the actual 13-minute long version of the now classic video.

Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with the music video craft – their style, history, evolution, and place amongst culture. And there is no doubt, the industry has completed shifted from the 80s MTV scene. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to even find a music video on one of the MTV networks. And honestly, this is a good thing. It has ushered a whole new era of video production, creativity, delivery, and collaboration amongst artists and film-makers.

So, needless to say, when the opportunity came to partner with my friend Ryan O’Neil of Sleeping at Last on a music video as part of his recent “Yearbook” project, we were all in. Here’s a little background on the video.

The first step in the process was actually song selection. We wanted to find a song that not only could be visually depicted in a creative fashion, but one that had a depth about it that can lead the visuals. It did not take long for me to volley for “Emphasis” – my favorite song in the collection.

While Ryan prefers to not be featured in his videos, for a variety of reasons we wanted to include a performance piece in the mix and loved the idea of shooting this aspect of the video at the famous Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. Actually, we shot two videos here – the performance piece of this video and a live performance of Sleeping at Last’s “Turning Page” – one of the featured songs in the latest Twilight movie (“Breaking Dawn: Part I”).

It’s a long story (most of which you can read here), but we ended up building the remaining narrative around a little boy (who happens to be my son) and his exploration of a seemingly large and broken world. We chose to shoot the video almost entirely in a macro format – subtly suggesting that we are often limited by our small perspective and much too close for our own good to appreciate the world in all its beauty and mystery. As Ryan has stated, “This is a little song about big questions.”

We wanted to combine this technique (macro) with the use of small hints of natural light as a subtle nod to the lyrics.

I think at one point there were more than four concepts driving the video – much of which were abandoned after the first cut. In fact, in the end, the majority of the shots with the kid (Phin) in the video were shot within the last 20 minutes of sunlight we had on our last day of filming.  Thanks to beautiful imagery captured by Wonderkind Studios, we were able to pull off the video in time for it’s Paste Magazine premiere, which we were excited to be a part of.

If you haven’t listened to Sleeping at Last yet, get on it now. Check out the recent “Yearbook” project here.

Sleeping at Last’s “Emphasis” Music Video

Production photos courtesy of Jose Rivera Jr. and Brian MacDonald.

In 1912, the Titanic sank, Woodrow Wilson was elected President, and painter Jackson Pollock was born. Also that year—on Valentine’s Day, no less—the United States lovingly opened its arms to welcome Arizona to the Union, making it our 48th state. The people of Arizona have lived through so much and have an abundance of unique stories to show for it. Along with Arizona writer Lisa Schnebly Heidinger, O’Neil Printing, Roswell Bookbinding, and countless photographers and historians, Rule29 worked to collect those stories in Arizona: 100 Years Grand—a commemorative coffee table book to celebrate the State’s centennial.

Read the rest of the entry >

It’s always been a dream to write a book. Honestly, though, I haven’t had much to say until I asked myself this question: “How do I live a life that fuels my work and work in a way that fuels my life?” I’ve been speaking about this idea, trying to figure it out, and working through trial and error until I came up with a “process” (or at least an outlook) that my good friends at Wiley felt was good enough to publish. Life Kerning is all about making small steps to get closer to that elusive work-life balance.

I really enjoy business/help books that are friendly and approachable, so I tried to tackle this issue head-on in a relaxed, “I’ve been there” manner. I share some tips from great friends and observations from speaking to a variety of people about this subject. I really wanted to challenge the notion that positive change can come only through a complete system overhaul. So, the book provides quick strategies to fine-tune specific areas of your life and career.

Wiley gave Rule29 the opportunity to create the whole package as well – the cover, a clean typeset style, and fresh illustrations for each chapter. These illustrations were custom geometric-style shape drawings that were set on a textured background to set the stage for an engaging read (special thanks to Kara “The Cheech” for working so hard on those with me). We also extended the style to a fun and simple website, facebook tab, and a video.

My biggest hope is that readers find some peace of mind mixed with inspiration topped with a fresh outlook on some things that can be completely overwhelming at times. I made this for you.

I hope you consider getting the book either physically or in ebook form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Books-A-Million. I look forward to your thoughts both good and bad; either way I hope you are awesome today.

No design project is inherently easy – but if you were to ask designers which audience would be the most difficult to design for, you’d probably get “other designers” as a response more often than not.

Rule29 set out create a unique promotion for O’Neil Printing at this year’s AIGA Pivot conference that would help the in-kind sponsor stand out to the 1600+ designers (and other designerly-types) that passed through the marketplace to snatch up all the freebies. Read the rest of the entry >

Choosing a college is a difficult task, considering all the options students have today. On the opposite end, being a college or university trying to attract the right students is an equally daunting task.

This past year, Wheaton College invited us to join them as they tackled this task of wooing new students. Our part in this process was to help rework their admissions materials. From the viewbook to Facebook apps to direct mail, every piece of paper and digital connection point was up for reinterpretation. So we went back to school; both college and high school – learning how (and why) the average high school junior and senior choose a college or university.

Our goal was to create pieces that would stand out among other college materials while communicating clearly that Wheaton College is a high-level academic institution that fosters and promotes a grace filled community, all on the backdrop of a beautiful campus.

The “Who We Are (As You Are)” campaign was what emerged from all our research and brainstorming. This campaign was developed out of the College’s desire to help prospective students and parents see the school and its students for who they really are and encourage future students to see themselves as part of this community.

The following are a sampling of the different materials we created for Wheaton to send to prospective students as well as for welcoming them on campus.

This brochure is sent out to prospective students to introduce them to Wheaton College and encourage them to visit the website to learn more about the College.

Students who request further materials are encouraged to attend the Wheaton Connection Weekend to experience the college first hand.

The Wheaton College View Book

The Wheaton College Welcome folder