dmfdesign helps businesses amplify the impact of their brands through design strategy, brand-systems design, and design management.
As a creative director, brand strategist, graphic designer, and business professional, Diane Michelle is guided by the core belief that visual communication is only successful when client goals and objectives are combined with an empathic view of user experiences and customer journeys.
Bringing over 25 years of multi-disciplinary knowledge and experience in graphic design, design management, architecture, marketing, and behavioral psychology to the table, Diane partners with small and large businesses to develop and manage brand identity systems, eLearning UI strategy, and experience design across a variety of mediums.
Diane’s previous work includes serving as Design Director for Excel Communications, a global telecom corporation, where she managed design teams in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. In her role as design director of Excel’s Design Marketing team, Diane was instrumental in building corporate profits through the strategic reconfiguration and redesign of Excel’s extensive portfolio of print and digital marketing material.
From 2004 to 2011, Diane partnered with M&I Bank (now BMO Harris Bank) as Art Director, Online Banking where she managed UI design strategy for the M&I Bank family of Retail, Small Business and Wealth Management websites, contributing to a significant increase in customer usage of M&I’s online banking platform.
Diane earned her MFA in Visual Communications from the University of Illinois/Chicago where she was additionally awarded a prestigious Graduate Fellowship for the design and development of an interactive eLearning tool focused on the history of women and technology.
Prior to attending UIC, Diane studied design and architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design where she had the unique opportunity to study graphic design with renowned designer Jay Doblin, and architecture with George Schipporeit, co-architect of Chicago’s Lake Point Towers and former student of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Diane’s expertise and knowledge in the field of visual communications weaves and connects a full range of media platforms. From publications Art Director, WTTW/Channel 11, where she was awarded Best PBS Publication Nationwide for her magazine design, to her published work in PRINT Magazine, along with numerous awards for website user experience solutions while working in the financial industry, Diane has a deep understanding of the intimate relationship between word, image, context, and user experience.
Most recently, Diane held the role of Design Lead, Corporate Brand Management at Hollister Incorporated, a global healthcare company, where she provided creative leadership and brand solutions for the entire JDS Inc. portfolio of brands.
Currently, Diane manages dmfdesign from her homes in Chicago and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.