A smattering of symmetry

Red Dirt Girl

Mary Frances Foster — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:09:09 +0000

pieces compiled from my visual archive, modified by me • 3strap wedge, Steven Alan

LISTEN: Red Dirt Girl Emmylou Harris

just launched // Girlcrush.la

Mary Frances Foster — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Recent work: web design

CLIENT: Girlcrush.la
ROLE: creative direction & design
DEVELOPED BY:
Matthew Ström and Daniel Korte
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view live here
featured on sfgirlbybay here

It's finally live! Girlcrush.la, the site we've helped Wendy completely revamp, launched last week. Wendy's site and blog is focused on featuring a glimpse into the life of working women, from all walks of life. We transformed her existing site, organizing it so that each woman featured is clearly represented, while giving it more of a light, airy and feminine touch, similar to the initial moodboard.

The challenge was to create a cohesive aesthetic while using images provided by the selected women–each with their own variation of tones and saturation levels. We decided on using a lilac gradient overlay for the cover slides and thumbnails, which really lightened everything up and made everything family quite nice. Thanks Wendy, for the opportunity to work with you and bring the vision to life! And thanks to Matthew Ström, the main programmer, for bringing it all to life!

Heartworn Highways // Carondelet, St. Louis

Mary Frances Foster — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:51:55 +0000

APRIL 2013
Pentax X-5
Polaroid 600
Polaroid Land Camera
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LISTEN:

John Prine Hello In There

Been having a ball living and learning alongside my love, Jonathan Stark. Several weekends we've spent exploring our city and experimenting with various cameras and films; has me really looking forward to a heck of a summer and some impending travels. Goals for the summer mostly include spending all our time at the river, impromptu barbecues, stringed instruments, wind-blown hair and cafe crosswords. Hoping to keep this space updated with an assemblage of our excursions.

"Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger; And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry day"

new work // Fonts.com hero image

Mary Frances Foster — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:42:14 +0000

ITC Century Type Specimen

CLIENT: Monotype/Fonts.com
ROLE: art direction & design
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view full size design here
view live here

Each month the homepage of Fonts.com features four new image selections to showcase both new releases as well as typographic hidden gems. I was thrilled to be invited to design a hero image, alongside some of the best known, established and emerging designers today (Aaron Draplin, The Heads of State, John Passafiume, Mark Weaver)!

Check out the Hero Image archive to see past and future contributions

new //+ client moodboard

Mary Frances Foster — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:11:16 +0000

Moodboard I

CLIENT: Girl Crush
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image sources found here

I've been working this past month with a new client on a complete overhaul of her site design. It's been a fun process and I think we're all excited about it wrapping up. As we're preparing to launch next week, I thought I'd share the initial moodboard with you! More process peeks over on dribbble

Featured // Eva Black's Spaces

Mary Frances Foster — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:58:27 +0000

I'm excited to be featured on Eva Black's SPACES today, sharing some shots of my workspace!
Head over there to see several more images and read a bit about my background and creative process.

Thank you, Eva!

Empty Pocket Waltz

Mary Frances Foster — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:57:37 +0000

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snapshot | big leaves, 1959 | Louise O'Reilly
Listen: Connie Converse How Sad, How Lovely

Lately // --

Mary Frances Foster — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:37:31 +0000

collage composition / April, 2013

Been busy as can be! Working on a handful of new collages and planning for an online shop where I'll sell originals and select prints–aiming to open this Spring! Also, we got a decent camera over the weekend, which I'm hoping will allow me to share more shots of our day-to-day (aside from instagram), as well as some new design work. Until later, a few links for your leisure!

"...a lot of people think i'm sort of just fascinated with the past—and I am to an extent—but what I like is quality;
I'm not an industry I'm an individual." —Justinian F. Morton, Restorer

The eye has to travel // Inspired by Diana Vreeland

Mary Frances Foster — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:38:28 +0000

Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is responsible for launching many iconic careers, establishing countless trends that have stood the test of time, and bringing an unprecedented and incontrovertible perspective to the fashion world that has scarcely been seen since.

During her legendary twenty-five-year tenure at Harper's Bazaar, she wrote a column that shared audacious advice: extravagant ideas that helped redefine American women and twentieth-century fashion. "Why Don't You...?" ...tie black tulle bows on your wrists? ...have a yellow satin bed entirely quilted in butterflies? ...paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys' nursery so he won't grow up with a provincial point of view? Vreeland's column shared a personal credo:

Don't just be your ordinary dull self. Why don't you be ingenious and make yourself into something else?
This site, beautifully showcases her unbridled creativity.

Amicable on-ramps

Mary Frances Foster — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:49:40 +0000

Downtown St. Louis, April 6, 2013; Polaroid 600 // shot by JSB

Everything had worked, slow and steady. All you had to do was lower the temperature in your eyes, the heat and the need. All you had to do was be willing to adjust, slightly, what you wanted, tuck your head down and provide the stuff other people asked for on a dependable schedule.