Justin Ahrens

“Humanity is the strategy. Kindness is how you make it real.”

Justin Ahrens is an author, brand strategist, storymaker, and leadership coach who believes creativity is one of the most powerful ways we can love the world.

Justin founded Rule29 in 2000 and now serves as its President and Chief Creative Officer, leading the agency’s Making Creative Matter® approach. He is also Chief Creative Officer for O’Neil Printing, bringing together brand, storytelling, strategy, and technology to help organizations connect their vision and values.

An On Purpose™ leader and Level C brand strategist, Justin has twice been named a “Person to Watch” by GDUSA. He also served on the National Board of AIGA, helping lead its Design for

“Humanity is the strategy. Kindness is how you make it real.”

Justin Ahrens is an author, brand strategist, storymaker, and leadership coach who believes creativity is one of the most powerful ways we can love the world.

Justin founded Rule29 in 2000 and now serves as its President and Chief Creative Officer, leading the agency’s Making Creative Matter® approach. He is also Chief Creative Officer for O’Neil Printing, bringing together brand, storytelling, strategy, and technology to help organizations connect their vision and values.

An On Purpose™ leader and Level C brand strategist, Justin has twice been named a “Person to Watch” by GDUSA. He also served on the National Board of AIGA, helping lead its Design for Good initiative.

As co-founder of Wheels4Water, Justin helped bring clean water and sanitation training to more than 20,000 people across Africa. The initiative was recognized by Fast Company as a world-changing idea and led to conversations at the Obama White House.

Justin has spoken at TEDx, Adobe MAX, AIGA, CreativeMornings, Notre Dame, Kent State, and events around the world. He is the author of Life Kerning and Being HumanKind and teaches nearly 20 LinkedIn Learning courses, including Design Thinking in the Age of AI.

He also hosts the long-running podcast Design Of and co-hosts At The Table, creating space for honest conversations about creativity, leadership, purpose, and life.

Justin’s work is grounded in one belief: creativity and compassion are not separate pursuits. Together, they can transform business, leadership, and the lives directly in front of us.

At home, Justin is married to Sarah and is the father of four. He hopes to build a legacy defined not by recognition, but by the ripple of kindness he leaves behind.

Being HumanKind | Rule29