It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since our third annual hand turkey extravaganza ended with these great winners. The time is here once again, our friends, to charge up the tryptophan motivation and be a kid with some hand turkey works of art. Please check out our updated Show of Hands site, download the form, read the rules or check out the 2010 entries, and be among the first to enter the 4th annual Show of Hands competition. Remember outside of the sheer glory of being named champion, we enhance the sweet taste of victory with some  iTunes gifts to go with it.

PLEASE NOTE – part of your jury selection will be based on tweets, likes and comments. So enter early and enter often. Let everyone know about it and get some social networking love. Get your office into it, break out the crayons or oil pastels, make Grandma bust one out and your kids (oh yeah, we pick a kids winner too). Bottom line: Have some fun.

We are excited to see your tasty turkey creations, let’s get it rolling!

As most of you know, some of us at Rule29 have been working on taking daily pictures to help us to create space and take the time to see things differently. A daily picture is a purposeful act to notice the stories and scenery that surrounds us – details that in the daily rush of life may go unnoticed. To see what we’ve been seeing, check out #SeeDiff on Twitter  (see more details in my column on Rock Paper Ink Blog).

During some lazy flipboard reading I came across three videos that are simple and brilliant. These videos are incredibly well done and create a version of seeing differently that seems adventurous and inspiring (wish I was on the crew). I wanted to share since we all look for quick injections of awesomeness, and these will do it in just a few minutes. So sit back, watch, and share. And as the video description reads:

“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films….. = a trip of a lifetime.”

What do you think?

We’ve been up to good stuff this sweet, steamy summer and are excited to share the highlights with you in the latest issue of Creative Matters^®, Volume 28. From new branding strategies, print collateral and glossy pages to good karma websites, hot apps and social media boosts, we’re happy to report that variety really is the spice of life.

At the top of our list comes our work with a leading academic institution, where we’ve developed a new branding strategy along with a full suite of shiny new print materials. Speaking of new, we’ve unveiled a few fresh websites for our friends at JOYRIDE and O’Neil Printing. In keeping with the hot summer spirit, we also helped design MarketDelta’s new Heat Mat App, a perfect tool for those interested in gauging the performance of top stocks and funds. We had the honor of creating three new book covers, and even challenged the concept of worthiness with a breathtaking book of photographs from MacDonald Photography. Lucky for us, we also managed to squeeze in a few healthy getaways to recharge and work on a great tan (have you seen Justin lately?).

There’s more to share and you don’t want to miss a look, so get your issue now and enjoy Creative Matters.

:: Download Creative Matters 28  ::
(It’s tasty)

We also recently updated our Creative Matters section of our site check that out too if you are ready for more goodness.

Thanks,
The Design Monkeys from Rule29

PS: We think Everybody Should Just…

There are times in your life when things just feel like they all fall in place. And for that moment you feel like you are being smiled upon. Exactly a week ago today, Rule29 was able to premiere our second documentary, which we made with Wonderkind Studios and Life In Abundance. This film was about extreme poverty, its complexities, and its depth. Almost a year ago we flew to Nairobi to make a film about LIA’s microfinance initiative in some of Africa’s largest slums. All during the film and on our way home, we were grappling, – I would say struggling, in fact – with what our normal was compared to the beautiful people we just had an honor to meet and interact with for a week of our life. And, because of that struggle, we decided to change the film and focus on the complexity of poverty.

As the film was about to start, I was overwhelmed with thoughts of people not liking it, or the film not making sense, or whatever other ridiculous, anxiety-filled thoughts flooded my mind. As I walked up on stage, my butterflies went away and were replaced by a growing excitement. Here it was, this great piece of art that so many people put hundreds of hours into, and we were about to share it.

After introducing it, the lights dimmed, I sat down, and the movie started on that larger than life fifty-foot movie screen. And then it happened…. I was back. Back at the beautifully horrible place halfway across the world. My heart became heavy and tears started welling in my eyes. Could it be? Did this place actually exist? Could I do more? How can I help this “normal” for my brothers and sisters be different? How? As I let the film take me back, I reflected on all that went on during the time that we were there. I remembered the smell, the condition of the environment, the reality of it all, but also the hope that was around every corner.

The impact of film and story is an amazingly powerful medium. As I along with the rest of the team at Rule29 work hard at becoming better and better at it, I’m always thinking, How can we make this world a better place? Isn’t that something we should all strive to do? I think it is – do you?

As the movie closed and the credits rolled, I was relieved to walk back onstage greeted with applause, and as the rest of the crew came joined me onstage, again I was overcome with emotion. What we do, and what we can all do, can be so good. I’m honored to be a part of this work, but more than anything I’m honored to help people engage in conversation that can produce action. Action that can influence change, the kind of change that can help rid the world of extreme poverty. The kind of change that can bring justice and empowerment to those most marginalized in our world.

I want – no, I need – to be a part of that work. I’m so grateful to all of the people that came out to the premiere. If you missed it and would like to set up a screening, buy a copy of the movie or watch the trailer please visit: www.thisismynormal.com

I hope this is the year you become a catalyst for change in whatever way you can. We will be talking more about this over the coming months, so please come back. I also want to give a special thanks to Brian and Jose and Wonderkind for all that you do for us, and for Life In Abundance for allowing us the privilege of helping tell your story.

PS: Extra special thanks to FBCG, the film and R29 crew, our volunteers, Floodlight Design, The Prop and Arcada Theater for making the premiere happen and spreading the word.

Birds are chirping and it’s getting warm(ish) in Illinois right now, which means it’s time for the first Creative Matters installment of 2011. This early spring edition highlights our newest collaborative documentary filmed in Nairobi, Kenya along with the packaging and promotional materials surrounding it. Check out our latest mobile app project that hits just the right flavor notes – and speaking of tastes, expand your palate with a new website for Niche. View some stop-action whiteboard magic and many other wonderful samples of some delicious strategic creative in this issue.

:: Click here to download Creative Matters 27  ::
(You’ll be glad you did)

New things and creative reminders:

+ Premiering our latest documentary with Life In Abundance and Wonderkind April 7th. For more information check out the This is my Normal trailer

+ We were honored to be featured by Stated magazine – to see the full article go here

+ Going to the HOW Conference this year? Come see Rule29 speak about Seeing and Doing Different

Thanks,
Your Amigos from Rule29

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

It’s pretty exciting to think less than a month from now we will be entering our 11th year. To think we have worked with over 330 clients and have done thousands of jobs, I’m really blown away and humbled at the opportunity to make creative matter. Recalling past employees, my current team, our many partners and collaborators and the amazing clients really is…well, awesome. This little 10 x 10 microsite has been fun as it has forced me to look back at the work we have done each month, reflect on how we have evolved and what we have learned. I would highly recommend doing that at least once a year.

And after a decade of making creative matter, it’s still about one thing: doing the best strategic design possible. We all come to work each day and strive to do just that (and of course have some fun doing it).

This 10th year installment shows a variety of work, from brand, print, online and cause-related work. We hope you enjoy. Check it out here.

But before you check out the site, what were some of your highlights of 2010? Personal, professional, whatever – in the spirit of the season take time to look back and feel free to share.

PS: We plan to keep posting some of our favorite work on this tumblr as a way for us as a team to choose our favorite 10 projects every year. So stay tuned.

Our 10^th anniversary year has been full of new R29 creative matter, and Creative Matters 25 is no exception. Please download our quarterly newsletter and get the latest work, news, and updates all in a brand new package. It’s still jam-packed with a cross section of work, but now it holds some design and reader updates that are better experienced than explained. So without further banter:

:: Click here to download Creative Matters 25 ::

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).

Don’t forget to BE IN CHARGE or to take a stroll down memory lane with TEN x TEN anniversary site currently highlighting 2000-2007.

Let us know what you think about our new work or just take a second to say hi. We hope that the last remnants of summer treat you well and we can talk soon,

Rule29

We are officially at the halfway point to Rule29′s Making Creative Matter anniversary edition. If you have been following previous posts, you know this post is going to be a mix of work, from small to large projects. A little bit of bold, a little bit of beautiful, at least that is how we like to think of them. This time, from the good year of 2005.

’05 seemed to be the year of branding systems and books for us. In prepping for 2006 there is a much larger variety to choose from, but 2005 was really dominated by that kind of work. It also was capped by R29 going from 3.5 to 6 full time team members.

From the NHL canceling the rest of the season, resulting in no hockey from 2004-2005, Hurricane Katrina, Apple releasing Mac OS X v10.4, the Funeral of Pope John Paul II, The Chronicles of Narnia in theaters, and of course the start of “TomKat”, 2005 had it’s share of ups and downs. What were you doing and working on in 2005?