Spotlight on Design Army

Design Army takes risks, captures rewards with Adobe Creative Suite software

When Pum and Jake Lefebure take on a project, halfway is not in their vocabulary. The trendsetters believe that the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward — and this philosophy frees them to wholeheartedly explore uncharted artistic territory and master the art of the possible. In 2003, their newly founded design studio, Design Army, was a force of two: Pum and Jake, working from their kitchen table. They had to build a portfolio to show clients, so they treated each project as if it was the last one they would set out to do.

Today, the husband and wife team have transformed their business skills and love of design into a force of nine designers working from the firm's own custom-built offices. The multidisciplinary firm has a client list that reflects a balanced mix of small businesses and international giants, including GE, Verizon, Disney, Human Rights Campaign, Marriott International, Relish, Ritz-Carlton, Rockport Publishers, Smithsonian Institute, and Washington Ballet. The studio's foundation is based on a traditional design sensibility, color that sizzles, and extensive use of the latest technologies, including Adobe® Creative Suite® software.

"In many ways, we are very old school when it comes to creativity, especially in the early stages. Our designers fill up hundreds of sketchbooks a year exploring concepts," says Pum. "The Design Army way is sketch, sketch, sketch. We save about 15 rounds of edits just by focusing on the idea versus the execution. Then we move into Creative Suite to execute the chosen idea across print, web, and interactive media."