I’ll admit it. This post might come a in a bit over over the top, but I’m completely enamored with my new iPad. I think it was love at first site watching the Keynote presentation on March 2nd. Don’t get me wrong, the 1st iPad was amazing as well but feeling of “must have” didn’t become overwhelming until the announcement of the 2nd.

I saw that beautiful sleek design of the tablet accessorized by the glorious smart case, coupled with so many delightful features and capabilities and quickly realized – it had to be mine. (Might have been channeling a little Gollum and let slip a “my precious” but don’t quote me on that.)

If I were to describe a typical week day with the iPad, it would go like this. There’s access to Google Docs for the morning production meeting. I’m using it to log onto the different 37 signals applications throughout the day in order to follow up on projects and clients. And, I’m able to walk to and from meetings with all my notes organized and easy access to my email.

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I’m sure that by this time most Americans have had their fill of turkey, what with it being five days after Thanksgiving, but not us at Rule29. We love us some turkey…especially in hand drawn form. We’ve talied up the results of this year’s hand turkey illustration contest.

Find out who was victorious in R29′s Show of Hands competition after the jump.

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It’s time to get your crayons, markers, paints, and craft box out and submit your hand turkey for the 3rd annual hand turkey illustration extravaganza.

This year we’re doing things a bit differently and instead of submitting your posts to us through email, we’ve created a little Tumblr site for your turkey enjoyment. Check out handturkeys.tumblr.com/ on how to download the template and submit your best gobbler.

For a little extra motivation, there are prizes for 1st through 3rd place, and be sure to check out previous years’ entries for some inspiration. 2008 Turkeys | 2009 Turkeys

Looking forward to seeing everyone’s submissions!

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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My iChat buddy icon is Wonder Woman. She is the ideal for strength and femininity in the comic book world (not that I read comics, but Comic Con would be fun to visit). Her lasso of truth is something I would kill to have—wouldn’t client meetings be a lot more fun with that in the mix? Alas, I’m not Wonder Woman… but I do have a superpower of sorts.

Like many other creatives I get run down. Deadlines, meetings, packed schedules—they all keep me on my toes, and often cause a little stress (<< understatement). We all feel this way, yet it’s part of life. I think as designers we secretly love it. The thing is handling it all—work, family, and everything else inbetween—is our superpower. And it can be for anyone. Some of us just need to learn how to reveal our inner hero.

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