Two Like-Minded Midwestern Firms
Rule29 founder and principal Justin Ahrens has announced that Oxide Design Co., a leading design firm in Omaha NE, has merged forces with the Geneva IL-based agency — a certified B Corporation® — to continue to make creative matter® on an even larger scale. Drew Davies joins Rule29 after running Oxide for the past twenty years. Along with the Oxide team – Josh Schwieger, senior designer, and Wes Piper, senior web developer – Rule29’s clients will now benefit from a combined forty years of creative leadership.
With two nationally known creative leaders coming together to make creative matter in even bigger ways, Rule29 plans to expand their creative capabilities, create an expanded portfolio, and increase their service offerings. In addition, Rule29 has announced that Kyliegh Karas, marketing and brand strategist and founder of Defy Marketing, has also joined the team.
A Merger That Was Meant to Be
Amidst the upheaval of 2020, Rule29 and Oxide discovered a rare opportunity to combine their two perfectly aligned firms in a complementary way, creating an entity that is more than the sum of its parts. Justin will continue his role as Chief Evangelist, broadening the reach of Rule29, and Drew will serve as Chief Creative Officer, leading the combined creative team.
Rule29 and Oxide are two like-minded Midwestern firms – producing high-caliber work and sharing a value structure centered around using design for good. Both firms have been in business for twenty years, and both have had great success in their own right. Their combined body of work includes international branding and projects for the likes of Make-A-Wish Foundation, Converse, McDonald’s, Unicef, Microsoft, Union Pacific, and more. Building a larger, well-organized firm will open up the bandwidth for a higher volume of creative work and more strategic marketing activities. By combining their passions, Rule29 will be able to work from their strengths, care even more deeply for their clients, expand their reach, and help grow their clients’ businesses.
Oxide’s long-standing work on national election and ballot design will remain as a design for good focus, as it is in complete alignment with Rule29’s B Corp certification and desire to use design to make a meaningful impact. Rule29 will maintain a presence in both Omaha and Chicagoland, supporting the growth and prosperity of both local communities as well as the work they do nationally and internationally.
Both principals have been GDUSA People To Watch.
