DAFES | Design, Art, Fashion, Education & Startups

“Packaging Design” Winner of the “DAFES Choice. June 2025” award (3rd place) "MELLOW. Yogurt" transforms an everyday product into a design object. Dessert is packed into a transparent spherical capsule, divided into two sections: the base yogurt and a flavorful topping. The form emphasizes curiosity and sharing, while the clear surface showcases natural textures — from dried mango pieces to strawberry pearls and chocolate shavings. This packaging invites users not only to mix flavors but also to share with others and discover new taste combinations. Because true happiness lies in sharing! Are you working in product design? Now you can showcase your creativity at DAFES AWARDS 2025 in the “Packaging Design” nomination. Applications are free, with no age, nationality, or professional level limits. The deadline is October 12. Don't wait until the last minute, submit your work now! Explore more open calls for designers via the link. #DAFESTalents #DAFESChoice

WEEKEND READING: "The Color Black: Antinomies of a Color in Architecture and Art", MACK Books (2024) This book offers a profound and visually rich exploration of the colour black in art and architecture. It features two essays: one by architect and critic Mohsen Mostafavi, the other by art historian Max Raphael. Mostafavi reveals how black operates as both a visual language and a conceptual force — at once emotional, political, and spatial. Max Raphael approaches black empirically. His observations of Old Masters propose a radical theory of form that continues to resonate with contemporary architects and artists alike. This is not just a book about colour. It’s a book about how ideas travel — across disciplines, geographies, and generations. #WeekendRecommendation

THE WORST DESIGN OF AUGUST In our monthly section, we spotlight the strangest, most illogical, or just hilariously useless design ideas — not to mock, but to sharpen our sense of taste and purpose. Subway for cats Chinese YouTuber Xing’s World built a fully functional underground metro system for cats. Four months, 3D-printed doors, a working escalator — impressive engineering, but… do cats really need this? Sidewalk block sandals Thai brand PDM designed sandals shaped like zigzag paving blocks. The idea? Walk around and literally fill in the sidewalk gaps with your feet. Practical? No. Attention-grabbing? Definitely. GamiFries for Nintendo Switch 2 Fan-artist 7R135 created a 3D-printed fry holder that magnetically clips to your console. Because what’s better than gaming? Gaming with fries — hands-free. What’s your pick for the worst design of the month? Share in comments! #DAFESNewsDigest #DesignGoneWrong

OPEN CALL: Infographics Infographics are visual representations of information that help people better understand and evaluate complex data or concepts. Using infographics in education, business, advertising, or science makes communication more visual and practical. Specialists from various fields of visual communications are welcome to submit their works for this nomination to share their achievements in this area. Requirements: - Open to all genders, ages, nationalities, or professional levels. - Both concepts and projects that have been implemented or published between November 1, 2023, and October 12, 2025, are accepted. - The subject matter of the project is not limited. - Submission deadline: October 12 Don’t wait until the last minute, apply today via the link! DAFES AWARDS is an international competition that celebrates creative achievements and supports professional growth in design, art, fashion, education, and startups. #DAFESAWARDS

Henri Rousseau: A Self-Taught Genius Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (1844–1910) began painting at the age of 40, just to entertain himself during his free time outside of his job as a Paris tax officer. Little did he know that he would become a significant figure in art history as the founder of Naïve style! His legendary jungle scenes, such as The Dream (1910) and The Sleeping Gypsy (1897), were not depictions of the real world but of an inner Eden. His artworks gained recognition among avant-garde poets and artists, including Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Guillaume, and culminated in an iconic banquet held in his honor by Pablo Picasso in 1908. Henri Rousseau painted not to impress, but to express. In doing so, he helped usher in the age of modernism, proving that the eye of the dreamer can see what the trained gaze sometimes cannot! #DAFESLearning

OPEN CALL: Poster Design This nomination welcomes all types and genres of posters, without thematic restrictions. Judging criteria include the concept’s originality, uniqueness, alignment with the theme or brief, and relevance to current global poster trends. Requirements: - Open to all genders, ages, nationalities, or professional levels. - Both concepts and projects that have been implemented or published between November 1, 2023, and October 12, 2025, are accepted. Submission deadline: October 12 Don’t wait until the last minute, apply today via the link! DAFES AWARDS is an international competition that celebrates creative achievements and supports professional growth in design, art, fashion, education, and startups. #DAFESAWARDS

Game Boy Is Back! LEGO pays tribute to gaming history with a new set recreating the legendary Nintendo Game Boy! Nearly identical in size to the late-1980s classic, the constructor model captures every design detail. To dial up the nostalgia, it also features the game pak slot and comes with "Super Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda" game paks. A true celebration of handheld gaming’s golden era! The set will be available in LEGO shops in October 2025, with an estimated price of $60. A perfect idea of a present for Millennials 👾 #DAFES #InnovativeDesign #CreativeInnovation #ArtAndDesign #DesignForFuture

WEEKEND WATCH: Film "Orlando" by Sally Potter (1992) Adapted from the famous Virginia Woolf novel "Orlando: A Biography", this visionary film stars the unforgettable Tilda Swinton as a nobleman who lives for centuries — and one day wakes up as a woman. When Sally Potter first pitched the film in 1984, she was told it was “unmakable, impossible, too expensive, and not interesting.” Yet Orlando proved the skeptics wrong, becoming a landmark in cinema. Potter called her task “ruthless fidelity” to Woolf’s spirit — simplifying the plot to suit the cinematic form while preserving the novel’s radical core. What emerged is a film as bold as the book: a meditation on self-identification, power and time. For lovers of fashion history, art direction, and boundary-breaking narrative, this is a must-watch! #WeekendRecommendation

Week News Digest Who will inherit Anna Wintour’s crown at Vogue? Rumors say the frontrunner is Chloe Malle, Vogue.com’s editor and nepo-baby (daughter of actress Candice Bergen and director Louis Malle). Staff adore her, and she’s already in the “final rounds” to step into Wintour’s legendary shoes. Snoop Dogg Auction Meanwhile, art meets hip-hop history: Erica Kovitz’s collaboration with Snoop Dogg — using remnants of his smoked blunts in mixed-media works — has surprisingly fetched $148 100 at auction. “This project reflects Snoop’s heart and generosity,” the artist said.* Think Pink In Melbourne, the Royal Exhibition Building has been transformed into a breathtaking sea of pink fabric! MATRIA, a giant inflatable installation by Penique Productions, immerses visitors in color and sound, hosting concerts and performances as part of the "Now or Never" arts festival. *At DAFES, we share news of creativity and innovation — but we stand firmly against drugs! #DAFESNewsDigest

5 Figma plugins every designer should try If you want to speed up your workflow and explore new tools, try these free plugins: 1. Color Spark — generates editable color schemes for your prototypes. 2. Figmotion — allows creating and exporting animations directly in Figma (HTML, CSS, JS). 3. Figr Identity — allows building scalable design systems with 80+ customizable components. 4. Lummi — free AI-generated stock images from digital artists. 5. Autoflow — draws flow arrows for user flows, diagrams, and UX maps. This plugin is free up to 50 flows per file. #DAFES

Dorothea Lange: The Eye of Social Conscience Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) changed the course of documentary photography through a profound empathy towards the people she portrayed. At first, she wanted to be a portrait photographer and opened a photo atelier in San Francisco in the 1920s. But it was the Great Depression that truly defined her calling. Her photograph, White Angel Bread Line (1933), marked a turning point. The image soon became a symbol of collective suffering. From then on, Lange decided to use photography to give voice to the unseen. She followed migrant workers, displaced families, and rural poverty—capturing not only conditions, but the complex emotional terrain of survival. In 1942, she bravely documented the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII — a project the government would suppress for years. Her iconic images helped to shape American consciousness, and her legacy remains inseparable from the very idea of socially engaged photography. #DAFESLearning

OPEN CALL: Editorial Design DAFES invites students and professionals working with printed publications to participate in the competition! This nomination accepts the following types of projects: - Zines; - Calendars; - Brochures; - Catalogues; - Series of postcards; - And other printed projects thatdo not fall under the definition of a book. Requirements: - Open to all genders, ages, nationalities, or professional levels. - Both concepts and projects that have been implemented or published between November 1, 2023, and October 12, 2025, are accepted. - The subject matter of the publication is not limited. Timeline: Submission deadline: October 12 Voting process: October 13-19 The award ceremony: November 8 Don’t wait until the last minute, apply today via the link! DAFES AWARDS is an international competition that celebrates creative achievements and supports professional growth in design, art, fashion, education, and startups. #DAFESAWARDS

iPhone Case with LED Screen What if your phone case could groove with your music or flash your mood? The Picdance iPhone case, created in collaboration with Kiwidesign, is only 3.6 millimeters thick, including the LED screen that can show pictures, lights, and even music. Users can customize the display, design their own pixel-art, and share it through a dedicated creative app. The case responds to calls, messages, and music in real-time, transforming alerts into playful pixel icons. The case is available on Amazon for approximately $50. #DAFESNewsDigest

WEEKEND RECOMMENDATION This weekend, we invite you to explore Design Reviewed — an independent digital archive passionately curated by designer Matt Lamont. What started as a personal collection has grown into a remarkable resource documenting the history of graphic design of the 20th century. You will find there carefully selected materials, such as rare design magazines, stamps, books, and many others. #WeekendRecommendation

DAFES CHOICE — JUNE 2025: books June brought us a stunning wave of book design. The jury couldn’t pick just one — so they celebrated six brilliant works! I place: "My name is Erik Satie... just like everyone else.…" by Polina Livaich; "Chronicles of the mountain" by Chulpan Zaydullina; "Sands. The last address" by Kseniya Shibova-Borskaya; "Chernobyl. Human history of an inhuman disaster" by Snezhana Gireva. II place: "Mai sans fin: voices of the 1968 revolution" by Georgiy Novikov. III place: "Malevich" by Kseniya Chepanova. You too can be featured in DAFES Choice — just upload your work in design, fashion, art, photography, or creative startups on deziiign.com! #DAFESChoice

OPEN CALL: Design-Marketing DAFES invites students and professionals working in the advertising sphere to participate in the competition! This nomination evaluates creative projects in the following sub-categories: - TV & Internet video ads; - Outdoor and indoor ads, print ads; - Internet banners and posts; - Brand communication experiences and promotional activities; - Special projects and branded content. Requirements: - Open to all genders, ages, nationalities, or professional levels. - Both concepts and projects that have been implemented or published between November 1, 2023, and October 12, 2025, are accepted. Timeline: Submission deadline: October 12 Voting process: October 13-19 The award ceremony: November 8 Don’t wait until the last minute, apply today via the link! DAFES AWARDS is an international competition that celebrates creative achievements and supports professional growth in design, art, fashion, education, and startups. #DAFESAWARDS

Felice Casorati: The Father of Magical Realism Felice Casorati (1883–1963) is one of Italy’s most influential 20th-century artists and a key figure in Italy’s “Return to Order” movement*, combining Realism with a neo-Renaissance composure. Casorati’s distinctive style drew inspiration from the Symbolist tradition, the refined elegance of the "Viennese Secession" (particularly the works of Klimt and Kokoschka), and Cézanne’s art. His artworks, with their geometric elegance, flattened perspectives, and the cold serenity of dreamlike poses, helped define the unique Italian movement of Magical Realism — where everything appears almost too real, to the point of becoming supernatural. Beyond painting, Casorati was also a sculptor, architect, stage designer, and a dedicated explorer of applied arts. *An artistic movement that emerged after World War I, as a reaction against avant-garde movements (especially Futurism). #DAFESLearning

Not Only Behance: Where To Find Inspiration? If you're looking to go beyond trend-driven inspiration and dive into thoughtful, well-curated design references, these four platforms are for you. Each offers a unique perspective — from typography to web design — and supports your growth as a creative professional. 1. Deziiign.com 2. Another Graphic 3. Typewolf 4. Deck.Gallery Save this list, and let your next idea be guided by design that truly matters! #DAFESInspo

AI Chef Kitchen Cosmo redefines smart cooking, shifting from automation to creative collaboration between a human and AI technologies. Powered by GPT-4o, it generates recipes shaped by the dietary needs, cooking time, and — most importantly — available ingredients, by scanning them via webcam. There's another interesting feature: the ‘Cooking Mood’ dial, which offers settings like 'Nostalgic', 'Spectacle', and 'Surreal', infusing dishes with emotional nuance and transforming AI into a partner in interpretation and play. Kitchen Cosmo's design follows the current retro nostalgia trend — inspired by the legendary 1969 Honeywell Kitchen Computer, Cosmo has a red retrofuturistic shell, and is completely screenless and voice-free, designed for a tactile cooking experience. #DAFESNewsDigest

WEEKEND WATCH: "Bauhaus: The Face of the 20th Century" by Julia Cave (1994) How did a small, radical German art school change the visual language of the entire century? Bauhaus was more than a school — it was a revolution in thinking, designing, and living. This documentary invites us to rediscover the spirit of Bauhaus through rare archival footage, engaging interviews with former students and faculty, and commentary from contemporary experts. You’ll hear firsthand how this movement broke with academic tradition, united craft and fine art, and laid the groundwork for the modern disciplines we now call graphic design, product design, architecture, and media art. For students and professionals working across design, contemporary art, education, and digital culture, this film is essential viewing — a lesson in how visionary ideas can shape generations. #WeekendRecommendation