In 1923, Stern enrolled at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of applied arts) in Stuttgart to study drawing and typography. After graduating, she opened an advertising studio in her hometown of Elberfeld. She became interested in photography as a way of expanding the visual possibilities of her work. D.L.H. offers an early example of her incorporation of photographs into graphic design. The composition includes a likeness of Stern, looking up at the soaring airplanes, with the red letters D, L, and H boldly set against the flat black background. Stern’s simple but attention-grabbing palette, dynamic geometric forms, and use of photographs attest to her interest in modernist design and look ahead to her later advertising work.