User:CreativeEditorial

JUSTIN AHRENS

Justin Ahrens is the founder and principal of Rule29, a strategic creative firm located in Geneva, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He went to Illinois Wesleyan, where he planned to focus on playing football. A knee injury changed his career goals, and he graduated with a BFA in 1994. After moving to Phoenix, Arizona, his first job was with a small design firm that operated in the back of a print shop, which led to positions with other design firms. Before opening Rule29 in 2000, Justin worked as an art director at a publishing house in suburban Chicago, where he moved with his wife to start their family.

Having served for several years on the HOW Conference Advisory Board and more recently on the Epic Advisory Board, Justin is also a member of the STA - Society of Typographic Arts and AIGA - American Institute of Graphic Arts. He has held AIGA board positions in Arizona and Chicago.

Because Rule29’s culture believes in giving back, Justin and his team have been heavily involved with Life In Abundance, a nonprofit working to make a difference in the slums of Northeast Africa.

Justin's work can be seen in leading industry publications and books including Communication Arts, HOW, PRINT, Graphis, Graphic Design USA, HOW Design Books and Rockport Publishers (including ones authored by Rule29). Additionally, Justin can be found speaking on various topics around the country, serving as an adjunct professor, writing for Parse   and Rockport and most recently as author of Life Kerning™, published by Wiley and Sons.

CreativeEditorial (talk) 10:49, 24 October 2012 (UTC)