It never fails, every year the graphic design industry becomes increasingly dependent on technology to accomplish pretty much everything. From communication, integration, execution, and even some occasional design, technology is now the glue that holds a good graphic design workflow together. Yet we find ourselves so often left scratching our heads when something goes awry – and trust me, something will.

But there is no reason to be fearful, loyal readers! As Chief Technology Officer at Rule29, I’ve spent the past couple years establishing and refining our technological workflow – especially when it comes to backing up and saving that digital gold. I know what you’re thinking, “But Tim, I don’t even know where to begin!” So in this post we’ll be going over the ins and outs of our workflow process and who knows, maybe there will be something helpful in there for you. And keep in mind, this type of system would work for any business that is dependent on digital file storage (magic).

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19 films in three and a half days. This was the experience both Justin Ahrens and I (alongside our friend Eric) had at the Sundance Film Festival this past week. And if you’re curious what it takes to get 19 films in within this amount of time, let me put it this way. At 2 a.m. Sunday evening/Monday morning we were still in the Q & A session with Pfife of A Tribe Called Quest (“Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of Tribe Called Quest”) and at 6:20 a.m. the same morning, we are in standing in line for “My Idiot Brother.”

This was my fourth trip to the festival in the last five years and continue to return home with the same reflection/realization… Ironically, the festival is not about seeing movies. It’s about the conversation, about what is being “said.” There is no doubt that the festival’s leadership team views their role as somewhat of a cultural guide – point viewers to “stories worth discussing.” In fact, this was the sentiment after (almost) every film. Someone in the audience would ask the director something like, “So, what’s your position on environmental terrorism?” And the director would respond… “Well, we simply want to have a conversation regarding. This is why we made the film.”

So, what’s in store for this year’s cultural conversation? Here are a few films we saw worth discussing… Read the rest of the entry >

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.

#53 Create education tune-ups by watching demo podcasts or videos. Or, do a quick group project to learn technology or techniques together.

It seems like every few months, one of our software products is being updated, or a popular new technique is discovered that is important for productivity. Fortunately, there are a ton of resources online that can be utilized, from Adobe to various podcasts. To get everyone up to speed, have your employees watch important presentations individually or as a group. Additionally, if you make time for them to learn during work hours, it shows your seriousness for continued education. However, if it’s a struggle time-wise during business hours, you can set up a company sponsored early morning breakfast and ask your staff to come in an hour early once or twice a month to brush up. You can make it mandatory, too.

During a project a designer may learn a Photoshop shortcut, Illustrator style, or new technique. Have them teach others in the company so they aren’t the only ones that can do it, but more importantly, to further everyone’s education. This would also be a great lunch and learn (see #52).

How do you encourage continuing education or staying on top of technology?