Flurries

Pops of Color

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Although we are advocates of minimalism and simplicity, sometimes a pop of color can add beauty to an everyday object or setting. Whether it be a beach bungalow in Mexico or business cards, these pops of color are inspiring us to be bold.

Images via;

1. Beach House 2. Pillow 3. Yellow Chairs 4. Grown Ups 5. Creative Underground 6. Business Cards

Simplistic Packaging Design

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:49:00 GMT

This week we are feeling particularly inspired by simplistic packaging design. Although very detailed packaging can be beautiful and intricate, sometimes simpler is better. Getting straight to the point of what the product actually is can still be effective and beautiful, even without the frills. We are advocates of minimalism, and so are these brands below.

Images via;

1. Gillette Packaging 2. Mache Nantaise 3. Milk 4. No Frizz 5. Incase 6. Commodity

Designing Sophisticated Femininity

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:21:00 GMT

When we design websites, it's all about the imagery. Big, beautiful imagery can do WONDERS to transfer the look and feel of a brand to an online e-commerce website. The goal is not just to get customers to buy; we also want to make them feel and experience the brand, and essentially fall in love with the site so they will want to visit over and over again. The challenge we face this week is designing a site that communicates sexual, sensuous femininity in a classy, sophisticated way. High-fashion photography can easily skew overly provocative, so finding inspirational photography with the right balance of sex appeal and high-class, modern taste was somewhat of a challenge. Of course, Trunk Archive came to the rescue, delivering up the images below from various photographers in the fashion world. Many of these might not make the cut to the final website, but in this stage it's mostly creating an atmosphere and nailing down the look and feel of the brand that we're after. Stay tuned for the website to launch a few months down the road...

All photos via Trunk Archive

1. TRU704122 by Patrick Shaw 2. TRU438817 by Walter Chin 3. TRI823753 by Kai Z Feng 4. TRU665953 by Yelena Yemchuk 5. TRU671164 by Theo Wenner 6. TRU665954 by Yelena Yemchuk 7. TRU477403 by David Burton 8. TRU887366 by David Roemer 9. TRU888709 by Ellen Von Unwerth

DFM on Pinterest

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:18:00 GMT

That's right - DFM is FINALLY on Pinterest! We know, we know. It took us a while to jump on the bandwagon, but we're finally here, and now we want to shout it from the rooftops. Pinterest has been around for a few years now (since 2010) and it's quickly becoming THE place to be for brands and companies to effectively promote their products in a non-spammy way. Pinterest lets companies take an "advertising that's not advertising" approach to getting their products noticed by creating themed Pinterest boards that are MUCH more than just the mindless pitching of products or services. In addition, Pinterest is quickly crushing Facebook into the ground because its users spend more overall time on the site, convert more clicks into sales, and spend WAY more money (about 60% more) when they do end up purchasing something (click here to read more about Pinterest vs. Facebook ). We've found fabulous success on Pinterest for our clients over the last year, and we figured it was about time we get on it ourselves! Follow us to see more of OUR style and all of the stuff we love and are inspired by. We have many different boards to spread the love over several categories - and you can bet many more will be coming in the near future. Follow us @dfmla! www.pinterest.com/dfmla

All images via our Pinterest Page

Black on Black

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

For the past few weeks, we have busily been creating a brand identity for a new fashion client. Without giving away too many details (yet!), this brand is sexy, sophisticated, and feminine. While creating a logo and identity based on these concepts, we discovered a recent obsession with black on black. It's mysterious, alluring, and sexy, but with a sort of modern meets classic sophistication that we love. Although we may or may not end up with anything black on black for this particular brand, we thought it was definitely worth a blog post of our favorite black on black finds!

Images via: 1. Coke can from Designspiration 2. TSDS business cards from Lovely Stationery 3. Franklyn Rodgers The Philosophy of Strangers by Studio8 Design 4. Black frames interior from Desire to Inspire 5. Black on black interior from Charles Emerson on Tumblr 6. Wine bottle from Design Work Life Blog 7. Cards from From Up North

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:59:00 GMT

We all remember Dove's Evolution campaign about the realities of makeup and Photoshop from 2006. The video fast-forwards us through a pretty, but ordinary looking woman going through all the hair, makeup, and retouching that goes into the final, "perfected" looks we see in magazines. The video is just over a minute, but is amazingly eye-opening into the world of what a highly trained team of professional makeup artists and retouchers can do to transform how a woman looks.

This year, Dove came out with their newest campaign, Dove Real Beauty Sketches (by Ogilvy & Mather Brazil), that has the same kind of raw emotional quality to how women see and feel about themselves. This time, a professional forensic sketch artist was hired to draw two portraits of seven different participants: one where the participant describes themselves, and one where a complete stranger describes them. It's a very interesting experiment to explore the way we see ourselves, and the results were eye-opening.

The sketches above show that, without a doubt, the women interviewed described themselves to be much more unattractive than the stranger described them. About themselves, women would say they had a "pointy, protruding chin", a "big forehead", and several other things women tend to get down on themselves about. Strangers described each other as being "thin", with "pretty eyes", and other compliments that were definitely a sharp contrast to the way each woman described herself.

Empowering women to be their very best is very close to our hearts at DFM, which is exactly why we think this campaign is great. We're so impressed that Dove has made itself so much more than just a company that makes soap - Dove is selling a philosophy: that women should see their natural beauty and love themselves despite all their "imperfections", which are beautiful. Transforming a brand of pretty standard, ordinary soap products into a sort of revolution of women's empowerment is exactly what every marketing professional should aspire to, we think. Dove is making a positive impact on the world... one bar of soap at a time.

Dove Evolution photo from Strategy Online, Dove Beauty Sketches (and video) from AdWeek

Wine Bottle Design

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:43:00 GMT

This post really doesn't need much explanation. We love wine, and we love design. Put the two together, and you have one happy group of women. Featured on The Dieline, all of these designs below are wonderful examples of how design can do wonders to promote a product. Next time you're shopping for wine, take a look at most of the bottle designs on the shelves - it's surprising how many companies don't go the extra mile to really "wow" their customers!

All images via The Dieline

1. 365, Wines of The World 2. Viva la Vida 3. Minima Moralia 4. Hugh Hamilton Wines 5. Virginia Marie Lambrix - Dessert Wine 6. Bodega Nazaries 7. Bodega Florio

Blogger of the Week: Mimi Thorisson

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:52:00 GMT

Mimi Thorisson of the blog Manger (French for "to eat") is someone all the women of DFM secretly aspire to be someday. One part What Katie Ate and one part Julie Blackmon, Mimi's blog is full of delicious looking recipes (many with a French or Chinese influence, reflecting her heritage) and candid shots of her large family, all photographed beautifully by her husband, Oddur Thorisson. With a rustic, vintage feel and enough recipes to make your mouth water for days, Manger is one blog we'll definitely add to our RSS feeds. Click here to visit Manger.

All images via Mimi Thorrison at her blog, Manger

Vena Cava's Hilarious Short Film

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 08:00:00 GMT

We love a beautiful fashion short film just as much as most women who love fashion do, but sometimes it's absolutely necessary to take a step back and poke fun at how unintentionally hilarious (and a bit pretentious) the fashion world can be. For their new diffusion line, Viva Vena, fashion powerhouse Vena Cava made a hilarious short film with filmmaker Matthew Frost just to have a little fun with the artsy "hipster" crowd that also happens to be the brand's target audience. The short film completely mocks hipster girls (in a lighthearted way) while simultaneously "selling" Viva Vena clothes to the viewer, and pulls off both brilliantly. Some may find this video a little too over the top, but we think it's downright hilarious, and to be honest, completely spot on. Artsy, vintage films are fabulous... but so is a little bit of satire. Sometimes clothes really are just clothes.

Article, video, and stills via Huffington Post

Matthew Brandt Photography

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:43:00 GMT

Matthew Brandt is a Los Angeles photographer that's really caught our eye with his unique "Lakes and Reservoirs" photo series. A California native, Brandt specializes in startlingly beautiful interpretations of traditional landscapes. He shoots landscapes (all of them involving water), then soaks the prints in his darkroom with water that he has collected from the same body of water captured in each photograph, anywhere from a few days to a few months. Brandt usually has no idea how a photo will turn out before he starts - it often depends on the amount of sediment found in the water, which can create really interesting and beautiful effects on the final piece. In some of Brandt's other work, he has used a variety of unconventional materials like candy, dead insects, and tree branches to achieve the strange effects in his pieces. Whatever the method, we're loving it. See a few of our favorite photos by Matthew Brandt, below.

All photos via Matthew Brandt Photography

White Office Decor

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:18:00 GMT

January has been one busy month for the ladies of DFM! With the New Year came new clients, new projects, and a few new faces around the DFM office, but it ALSO brought a brand new office space along with it! No, we're not moving - we just happened to secure the lease on the office across the hall, which means plenty of new SPACE for us to spread out our ever expanding team, project materials, and equipment! Our new office functions as a meeting room, photo studio, workspace, and place to display all sorts of goodies from our completed and in-progress projects. The acquisition of a new space has really brought out our inner interior designer and organization-maniac personalities... it's cleaning, building, and decorating time! We won't be complete with our renovations for at least another month or so (because we have, well, important client work to attend to), but our inspiration is - surprise - white, tan, and hints of black. Love. Can't wait until it's all done!

Images via: 1. TOAST 2. Pinterest 3. Emmas DesignBlogg 4. Design Inspiration 5. French By Design 6. Pinterest

Origami Inspiration

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:23:00 GMT

After watching the PBS documentary, Between the Folds, all we could think about was how the art of origami could be applied to packaging design. The documentary reveals how the Japanese tradition of paper folding has redefined art and science. It is fascinating and breathtaking to see how a simple piece of paper can be transformed. As designers and creatives, our minds were racing with how we can use origami as inspiration for packaging design. Origami can be used to create unique, efficient, and gorgeous packaging. We cannot wait to use these new ideas for our next packaging project.

If you haven't seen the documentary we absolutely recommend it. You can watch it here.

Images via 1. Trailer Addict 2. WMSIWT 3. The Tarpeian Rock 4. Samira K Design 5. Lovely Package 6. Scissors and Paper Rock

A Touch of Texture

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:19:00 GMT

Even just a hint of texture can spruce up an invitation, a purse, a poster, or anything at all. Adding that extra element of texture makes any piece more visually appealing but also the enhances the tactile quality of a work. Some of our favorite textures come from nature and vary from wood grains to crystal patterns. Here are some textured pieces that we find absolutely beautiful and inspiring.

Images via 1. Silent Partner 2. 100 Layer Cake 3. Mrs. French 4. Beautifully Written 5. The Rodina

Happy Holidays

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Warm wishes and happy holidays from the DFM Team!

Design Blog of the Week: This is Paper

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:00:00 GMT

This week's design blog of the week goes to This is Paper. This is Paper curates a well rounded collection of architecture, product design, fashion design, interior design, fine art, graphic design, and photography. The blog features works that reflects an elegant and delicate design aesthetic full of soft pastels and neutrals complemented by clean lines and a touch of wood here and there. Aside from This is Paper's impeccable taste, we want to highlight that the blog often showcases student work. It is nice to see young artists and designers with fresh new ideas and even nicer to see well-known blogs recognizing the importance of supporting the up and coming not just the established.

All Images via This is Paper