This week I will be heading back to Africa with friend, photographer, and filmmaker Brian MacDonald from Wonderkind Studios. We will be traveling to Nariobi, Kenya, and South Sudan to record, document, and interview the people being served by Life In Abundance.

Our main push for going is to get acquainted with the reality and culture of our world’s newest country, South Sudan. LIA is planning to focus on that region in the coming years, and there are many things we want to help them with – including our next documentary collaboration slated for sometime in 2013. Like with most creative projects, understanding the reality of the situation is key. Whether it’s watching a product demo, listening to a mock sales pitch, or trying a new product, “seeing” is key.

An additional part of our time there will be spent collecting stories from the South Sudanese so we can put together a fund-raising book that will help tell the story, raise awareness, and help finance even further work being done there. Please consider supporting our Kickstarter for that project, and please help spread the word. 

While in Kenya, we will be visiting the micro-finance shoe project we helped start with LIA called Konjo. This project helps train locals in the variety of skills needed to make shoes that they can then sell. The shoe sales help finance the program, empower learning, and create a sustainable occupation for the Kenyans. These shoes, BTW, should be available for purchase in the US by mid- to late summer.

And finally, Rule29 has been collaborating with the graduate design program at Kent State University to create info graphics to be used in the slums of Kenya and South Sudan. The goal was to create better tools for communicating major health symptoms and medicine dosages. We will be taking the prototypes developed by the students with us so we can do some field-testing.

Everyone involved is excited for these opportunities. I’m hopeful about the results of the desired outcomes and grateful to be working on design for good. But what I’m most preparing for is the reality – the reality of a world so different than my own. More importantly, I want to spend my time learning and “seeing” so we can tell their story in a way that honors them. It’s their perspective, not ours. That’s what truly matters.\

*The book shown above is a prototype/concept only.

It’s been awhile since we have posted a green post. It’s really not from a lack of ideas, but more of which ones to post. Then we watched this video this week and thought how much better can it get? It’s a Ted Talk that’s informative, 5 minutes long, and includes some rules to live by. Enjoy – and don’t forget to shake and fold!

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.

Ever since it launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has been changing the way we view our universe. Views of nebulas and galaxies have sparked the imaginations of countless individuals. Classic images have sparked several “Top Images” lists. But did you know the telescope orbiting over 400 miles above our heads has taken over a million observations in its 22 year career?

As you can imagine, there are thousands of Hubble images that have yet to see the light of day. That’s where the ESA’s Hubble’s Hidden Treasures contest comes in. Through May 31, 2012, you can dig through the Legacy Archives and find what you believe is the nest best image from Hubble. There are plenty of tips and tricks to get the best out of the raw data stored in the archives.

Learn more about the contest here.

Even if you have no intention of entering the contest – I hope you take a moment to look through some of Hubble’s great discoveries. At the R29 headquarters, we often talk about the idea of wonder and what inspires that sense within each of us. I think it’s no secret that looking up toward the night sky is a continuous source of wonder for me. Despite the ocular limits that I am faced with – the Hubble telescope allows me to look out into space and be amazed by all that is out there.

I can’t be the only one that feels this way, yeah? What’s your favorite Hubble image? Mine has always been the Pillars of Creation.

And best of luck if you decide to enter the contest!

In our world, when anything that references the number 29 comes along, we tend to make a big deal about it. With this being the 29th volume of our Creative Matters newsletter, we decided to provide another way to experience it with our shiny new iPad app. Since our last installment, we have been up to a variety of new promotions, campaigns, mobile apps, books, and much more. What better way to share it all with you than with this new interactive read? If you have an iPad, please download this app for free. We would love your feedback on it and your overall experience using it.

As we all get ready for spring to turn into summer, for our allergies to hopefully die down, and for baseball season to kick into high gear, please take some time to check out the two great ways to interact with Creative Matters®:

. . .

:: Download the Creative Matters interactive PDF ::
- or -
:: Download the Creative Matters iPad App ::

. . .

Thanks,

The Design Monkeys from Rule29

You’ve probably read about Nest by now, but if you haven’t, check them out. It’s not everyday something so ordinary and taken for granted gets an intuitive, well-designed and urgently needed overhaul (even though nobody really realized the need for it). Nest tells us that our thermostats control up to 50% of our energy bill, so why have we waited so long? Check out more about why they made it.

The Nest is a “learning thermostat,” designed to be easy to use and save money by programming itself, letting you manage it from the cloud,  and giving you tons of info and feedback to help you learn how to save even more. It’s good for the planet, and it’s good for your wallet. And it’s great design. Win-win-win.

We bought one for the office, and are excited to see how/if it transforms our energy usage. Watch for updates!

What’s an everyday product you think is in dire need of a redesign? Let us know in the comments.

When I first read this article in Fast Company Design (Why Designers Need to Stop Feeling Sorry for Africa) my reason for reading was purely because the title annoyed me. If nothing else, this article is brilliant just for its title alone! After reading through the article quite a few times, and really looking into the heart of what the author’s argument is about, I think I really agree with what he is saying.

Take, for example, the prevalence of poverty porn. We can all picture Sally Struthers on a late-night commercial with emaciated children that you can save for $10/month. This is poverty porn at its worst (or best depending on how you look at it). In fact, one of the significant challenges that R29 has faced with some of our Africa-focused clients is the volume of poverty porn among similar organizations.

‘What’s the big deal,’ some might say? People need to be moved to act, and moving images, design and media can really be effective means that justify a better end for the poor and vulnerable. Someone would see an image that moves them to give and that gift provides a better quality of life for the image-bearer.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Africa and every time I leave a slum, I can’t help but marvel about how truly innovative and ingenious our African brothers and sisters really are. From toys made from trash to home-made water-purification units; the poor and marginalized people of this world deserve much more credit than we often give them. And yet, it would be really easy to take a picture of one of these brilliant African’s and make him look desperate.

Instead, let’s look at the assets that are already present and walk alongside our African friends toward a new day of prosperity and peace. There are many ‘good news’ stories coming out of Africa. I hope that these begin to outweigh the glut of poverty porn that is commonplace in today’s world.

Here’s my hope: what if the world began to view the poor as innovators, entrepreneurs, and future leaders – this perspective swings the dignity pendulum back to the complete opposite side and paints an entirely different picture of the reality of our world’s poor. This is where we need to be, and I believe that by working together (especially as designers) this could be reality. So thanks to a blog title that got me all riled up, I felt compelled to write and share about a shift in perspective. At least it’s something for us all to think about.

Shame on us for stealing one of the few assets they may have left: dignity.

Thanks to Justin Narducci from Life In Abundance for having an ongoing dialogue (the last 5 years) with me and Rule29 on how to “see” the poor and the amazing complexities of Africa. And for being the co-writer of this post.

30 days from now…who really knows where you’ll be? Is there something you’ve always meant to do, wanted to do, but just … haven’t? Matt Cutts suggests: try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.

This is a great place to start. Watch this or try reading Life Kerning – you will see some nice similarities. What would you do for 30 days?

Is passion really the defining factor to a great career? Does the possibility of a good career still exist in an ever evolving, technology and idea focused culture? Is velcro really a failure? Economist Larry Smith delivers an engaging talk about why many of us aren’t pursing our passions and why we can’t afford not to.

What are you passionate about?
What stops you from pursuing it?

Ok, award season is over… time to start caring about basketball.

As the wife of an avid sports fan, the spirit of competition has been something I’ve grown to very much enjoy. From baseball to football to hockey, I’ve found myself looking for ways to engage myself with athletics, whether it be by joining fantasy leagues or taking in a live game—everything short of actually playing. However, around this time of year, it’s always a little bit easier to immerse oneself into the sports world. The time when everyone and their kid sister gets involved. I’m talking about March Madness.

I realized a handful of years ago that this is the best time of year for people like me (a.k.a people with limited sports knowledge). Why? Because no matter how much you watch ESPN or track players throughout the season, the March tournaments always end up being fairly unpredictable. It’s amazing how many upsets there always are.

With that said, there are multiple ways to approach the tournament bracket. We have our own techniques, of course. Inspiration for picking who will go to the final four can be drawn everywhere from steadfast design principles to high school memories. Here are some we suggest trying when you go to “design” your winning bracket next week.

The Color Approach—

It’s quite obvious that there are good and bad color combinations out there. Why not try basing your picks on the color wheel? Go down your bracket and whichever team sports the most visually pleasing palette goes on to your next round (We at Rule29 usually root for UNC). Even if you don’t end up winning, you’ll at least have a very nice looking bracket in a different respect. Also, if you’re into side bets, a great game to play is who guesses closest to the correct PMS numbers of the winning team.

The Design Snob Approach—

Much like the previous technique, as designers how could we not suggest picking teams with the best logos. Sorry Baylor, you and your green bear protecting your ragged type isn’t doing it for us (below: top row, sixth from the left). There is no room for you in our final four.

The Road Trip Approach—

Break out the geography for this one. Start with the two opposite ends of the country and make your selections based on which is located the next inward (directionally-speaking). Another option is to start on the East coast and move westward, or vice versa… or both. That’s why you enter multiple pools.

The Nostalgia Approach—

Take a page from the trendsetter’s book and look to the past for inspiration. What was hot 20 years ago will make its way back to now. Google former champions and pick them to go all the way—everything’s cyclical, right?

If all else fails, trust the rankings—

Your entry fee is paid, but somehow selecting your picks slipped your mind until 10 minutes before tip-off. We know all too well about procrastination, but if all else fails, follow the numbers. There’s definitely a reason why some schools are ranked #1 and other #13. Just beware of the upset. (See also the theory of “eenie meenie, miney mo”)

Since all of these are just simple theories, of course, we can’t guarantee that you’ll crush your co-workers in your office pool. However, they would all be fun to try—and isn’t that what March Madness is all about? It’s also pretty hilarious that a 5-year-old might just have the same chance of picking the winner as ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi (yes, that’s his actual title). So, whether the prize is cash, free lunch, or just bragging rights, just ultimately trust your instincts and have fun.

What’s your winning bracket strategy? Have you tried one of the ones above or do you stand by your own tried and true method?