Design Army's Creativity Crusade

By Emily Hsieh
October 29, 2010

Jake and Pum Lefebure

Jake and Pum Lefebure, co-founders, Design Army

With a client roster that includes some of the biggest names in business and art (like, say, Disney and The Smithsonian Institution) and dozens of Addy awards (the Oscars of the advertising biz) under its belt, you'd never guess that Washington, DC-based graphic design firm Design Army was less than NPR ten men strong, and was founded only seven years ago by a young husband and wife duo (Jake and Pum Lefebure).

"We specialize in creativity," says Jake Lefebure, when pressed to define what it is exactly that Design Army does. And seeing examples of the graphic design firm's work—like the high-concept, lavishly propped magazine fashion spreads they produce for the Washingtonian Bride&Groom (for which they serve as creative directors), or the just-released This Is NPR book (Chronicle) they just designed, a tome that chronicles the history of the storied radio station on the occasion of its 40th anniversary—reinforces his claim.

This is NPR cover and interior pages, designed by Design Army

Design Army

Spreads (above and below) from Washingtonian Bride&Groom magazine, designed by Design Army and using merchandise sourced from eBay

Design Army

To get said creativity flowing, the Lefebures and the Design Army team constantly reference eBay. They rely on the online marketplace as a creative reference tool when conceiving photo spreads for their clients. (They frequently cut and paste product shots onto storyboards.) And, they shop on eBay for one-of-a-kind, affordably priced props to capture a mood in one of their pictorials. (Their eBay scores have included things as out-there and arcane as jumbo-size crayons.)

Recently, we sat down with Jake Lefebure to hear more about Design Army's love of vintage, the firm's latest projects, and how the design team makes the most of eBay to further its artistic process.

The Inside Source: So, how do you describe Design Army and what you do?

Jake Lefebure: Design Army is a design studio. We do branding, create print and online ad campaigns, come up with promotional and collateral materials, build websites, art direct shoots—it's a big mix of projects really. Our clientele is really diverse and changes constantly. We've worked with everyone from law firms to museums to Verizon to swimsuit companies to mom-and-pop hair salons.

The Inside Source: How do you describe your design aesthetic?

Jake Lefebure: We call our design "no fluff"—we don't like design with a lot of extra elements in it. We aren't into design that feels embellished and decorated. We try to keep our style really clean and clients' messages clear.

The Inside Source: Tell us a bit about the new book.

Jake Lefebure: It's about the last 40 years of NPR — which presented a unique design challenge, since we had to really think about how to come up with a visual representation of audio history. We ended up doing a ton of illustrations and custom graphics, and looked at eBay to study all different kinds of vintage radios in our research.

The Inside Source: How else does eBay come into play in your work at Design Army?

Jake Lefebure: We go to eBay all the time when we're making inspiration boards. Say we're doing a photo shoot and want to recreate a 60's vibe. We'll go onto eBay and find some cool 60's memorabilia that has a certain tone and color and we'll throw it on our mood and style boards. We're usually on a tight deadline when we're pulling together photo shoots, but with enough advance planning, it's a great resource for props.

The Inside Source: How did Design Army get started?

Jake Lefebure: We're going on seven years now and have been rolling off referrals. We actually got our start from a yard sale flier I had made out of old wallpaper. Pum and I had just quit our jobs and were starting our own graphic design business from our kitchen table. I was a big collector and had all this stuff in my house I needed to get rid of, so we had a yard sale. A guy saw our flier and came running in with our sign and said it was the best flier he'd ever seen. He was starting a new marketing company and was looking to hire designers. We ended up working together and he basically turned out to be a human Rolodex, and we got a lot of our early clients, through him. We were fortunate, and treated every project like it was our last—it didn't matter if it was for a pasta convention or the Washington Ballet.

The Inside Source: So what kind of vintage collectables are you interested in?

Jake Lefebure: I'm a big junk collector. Back in the day, I collected lunch boxes, tin cars, Star Wars and GI Joe memorabilia—mostly stuff that I remembered from when I was a kid. I remember when eBay was first starting, it felt like a candy store for me. It was just what I needed to unload my doubles and fill the gaps in my collections. It got pretty out of control. I had to pare down a lot of it, but I still have a couple storage units in DC that are packed high with stuff. I can’t resist things like old sewing machines or doors or antique bathtubs. I’ve got old gas pumps, license plates, wooden window shutters from Thailand—I don’t even know what.

The Inside Source: Does Pum have the same collector's instinct?

Jake Lefebure: She's got a weakness for vintage magazines. When we go to the flea market together, she goes straight for the book pile, while I'm all over the rusty buckets and things. She has every Martha Stewart that ever came out.

Design Army is prepared to do battle for items like these they found on eBay

Roll over items for details

New Kids Large Yellow Jumbo Giant Crayon Bank

(buy it now price, $12.95)

New Offering Plate with Red Velvet Bottom

(buy it now price, $49.97)

KTOWL Tawny Owl Taxidermy Kit

(buy it now price, $76.41)

New 30” Swan Fiberglass Garden Animal Statue

(buy it now price, $350)

New Caribbean Pirate Ship Hand Built Wooden Model

(buy it now price, $439.99)

Hartmann Tweed 3 Piece Vintage Luggage Set

(buy it now price, $400)

Vintage 1951 Niagra Falls Travel Water Decal

(buy it now price, $49)

Turkey (Ottoman Empire) 1915 War Medal

(buy it now price, $265)

How The West Was Won Metal Lunch Box 1978

(buy it now price, $70)

1. Last year we needed some large crayons for a Bride&Groom magazine photo shoot to use as hand props and bought these on eBay. They are now in my daughter’s bedroom.

2. Recently, we were looking for a collection plate/tray to use on another Bride&Groom photo shoot, and used few of these as inspiration.

3. I looked and looked for a swan paddle boat and never could find one on eBay; or pretty much anywhere. We needed one for a Bride&Groom magazine photo shoot and were almost ready to buy a large fiberglass swan, when our stylist's hairdresser's sister knew of a women on the Eastern Ahore (about two hours from DC) who had two that she used as rentals at a hotel. We called and asked if she would rent one. She said we could use it if we came and got it. Four hours later, I had a swan boat in DC headed to our shoot.

4. We recently did a [photo shoot for Design Army promotional images] where Pum and I are wearing a mix of modern and period style military fashion and looked everywhere to see what we could find with a "STAR" on the medals.

5. We pitched the idea of vintage/classic honeymoons for a Bride&Groom story and was it so easy to find mood/inspirations on eBay.

6. Here's one of the ones that I have in my collection; perhaps someday it will end up on eBay; but for now it's in one of my storage units—somewhere.

7. For the same Washington Ballet shoot, we also needed some vintage luggage/trunks…

8. In 2009 we did a Bride&Groom photo shoot that was all about Greek Gods/Goddess and needed an owl. Turns out you cannot buy (or have) them in the US. Luckily we have a friend, of a friend, of a friend, that had access to owls at a museum (so we were told) and were able to send along pics (like this) of what we were looking for.

9. We did a book for the Washington Ballet and had to source all our props with very limited budgets. At the time, we were looking everywhere, including eBay, for a pirate ship just like this.

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