Visual Lure's Graphic Design Blog Post | St. Louis Graphic Design Agency

Justen Hong Becomes Jury Member for DesignRush Awards

Posted on August 28, 2024 by JUSTEN HONG

I was recently invited to serve as a jury member for the DesignRush Awards. DesignRush meticulously evaluates and shortlists outstanding designs across categories such as web design, logo design, print design, package design, and more. These shortlisted designs are then reviewed by the Design Awards Jury, which consists of seasoned industry experts with extensive experience in design, development, marketing, and advertising. Their role is to objectively assess each project, using their expertise to evaluate the quality and creativity of the work.

As jury members, we are presented with a shortlist of candidates in each design category and tasked with rating each submission on a scale of one to ten. The design that achieves the highest average score is honored with the prestigious Design Award.

In conjunction with my selection as a jury member, DesignRush conducted an interview with me. Here is an excerpt from that interview:

Click here to read the entire article »

Justen Hong Featured in VoyageSTL’s Most Inspiring Stories in St. Louis

Posted on July 15, 2024 by JUSTEN HONG

Justen Hong was recently featured in VoyageSTL’s “Most Inspiring Stories in St. Louis.” VoyageSTL aims to spotlight the amazing individuals who bring life and vibrancy to the St. Louis, MO area. The publication highlights incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and change-makers, celebrating their unique stories.

VoyageSTL is part of the LA-based Voyage Group of Magazines. Their mission is to promote small businesses, artists, creatives, and makers by providing a platform for these hidden gems to share their stories in their own words.

Click here to read the interview »

Rebranding My Favorite Places – Part II: Dairy Haven

Posted on June 21, 2024 by JUSTEN HONG

Dairy Haven in Caseyville, Illinois, is my family’s favorite spot for ice cream, with their orange twist cone being my personal favorite. I love everything about Dairy Haven, except for their logo. The current logo appears amateurish, as if a high school art student painted it with incorrect body proportions, uneven lines, and a generally rough appearance (though it does carry some nostalgia).

To improve this, I decided to redraw the logo from scratch. While I aimed to enhance its quality, I wanted to retain the hand-drawn aesthetic to preserve the “mom & pop” charm of the place. I chose a typeface that complements this look, hand-drawn and vintage, reflecting the establishment’s history since the 1950s. Additionally, I created a graphic of the building, which is quite charming and embodies the “All-American” ice cream shop feel that is integral to the experience. Lastly, I redesigned their signage, believing it needed a modern touch.

If you haven’t been there, I highly recommend a visit. Their address is 112 N Main St, Caseyville, IL 62232. You can find more information on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DairyHaven/

Before & After

Logo Lockups & Additional Brand Elements:

Sample Background Graphic:

T-Shirt Designs:

Banners:

Cup Design Options:

New Sample Sign:

Needs a logo spruced up?

Does your logo have current brand equity, but it doesn’t look great and lacks visual appeal? Does your logo simply need to be cleaned up, refined, or slightly modernized? If so, we can help. Shoot us an email or give us a call today – as we would love to help.

Logo & Packaging for New Healthy Dog Snacks Brand

Posted on June 11, 2024 by JUSTEN HONG

DogNosh, an emerging pet brand specializing in dog snacks, enlisted Visual Lure for the development of their new logo and packaging design. As a brand focused on promoting canine health, they expressed a preference for the color green and sought a modern and refreshing aesthetic. Below, we present our initial logo concepts, followed by corresponding packaging designs.

In the top left corner, we present a logotype featuring a custom hand-drawn ‘g’, subtly incorporating a hidden dog face within the ‘og’ combination. The custom ‘g’ in the logo provides a sense of fun and uniqueness, contributing to its memorability.

In the top right corner, we explore a modern condensed logotype, with customized lettering and curved edges strategically placed for added visual interest.

For a touch of playfulness, we developed a logotype in the bottom left corner, where we integrated a dog tail into the letter ‘S’. This whimsical element adds charm while maintaining the brand’s essence.

Lastly, we ventured into more unconventional territory with a design aimed at disrupting the typical visual landscape of dog snack packaging. This concept pushes boundaries to ensure maximum visibility and shelf impact, setting DogNosh apart from mainstream competitors.

Packaging Design Options:

Following the logo exploration phase, we delved into designing packaging options tailored to each prospective logo. This process allowed us to visualize how each logo would translate onto packaging, ensuring coherence and resonance with DogNosh’s brand identity.

Packaging Option 1:

Packaging Option 2:

Packaging Option 3:

Packaging Option 4:

More to come…

Dognash is gearing up to launch four new exciting products in total! Stay tuned to discover which packaging they’ve selected for the first product, and keep an eye out for the unique designs of the remaining three packages.

Need expert branding and package design services?

If you’re on the brink of launching a new product and require expert branding and package design services, look no further than Visual Lure. Contact us today for a FREE quote. Don’t gamble with subpar or novice designers. Ensure your product makes a lasting impression from the start, preventing potential rejections from buyers due to lackluster presentation.

For further insights into our packaging services, explore:

Cleaning Up & Fixing a Logo to One of My Favorite Restaurants

Posted on April 29, 2024 by JUSTEN HONG

Mungo’s Italian Eatery, located in Collinsville, Illinois, is one of my family’s favorite restaurants. My wife and I have been patrons since the mid-1990s, and their logo has always bothered me. It appears as though it was cut out with scissors, with messy proportions, inconsistent letter thickness, and improper sizing. So, I took it upon myself to meticulously redraw and refine every aspect by hand.

Here is the before & after:

…and here are some lockups:

…and here are a couple mockups:

Needs a logo spruced up?

Does your logo have current brand equity, but it doesn’t look great and lacks visual appeal? Does your logo simply need to be cleaned up, refined, or slightly modernized? If so, we can help. Shoot us an email or give us a call today – as we would love to help.

New Logo for Private Bar/Lounge Coming to O’Fallon, Illinois

Posted on by JUSTEN HONG

BEYOND is a private, members-only bar/lounge coming to the Blade Building’s 5th floor in O’Fallon, Illinois. The founder described the establishment as follows:

BEYOND isn’t just a haven for the finest cocktails, but a sanctuary where people gather to inspire and be inspired. Our Founding Fathers envisioned BEYOND as a place where people could shed the weight of everyday expectations and dare to dream bigger and reach further. And so, BEYOND lives up to its name, helping its members reach BEYOND their dreams, see BEYOND the possible, and believe in their wildest imagination. Pursue what seems impossible. Go BEYOND.

Here were our initial explorations which were heavily inspired by bourbon logos and labels:

…and here are the final logo lockups. The final logo was inspired by a barrel, but in an abstract/ambiguous way as bourbon, whiskey, and wine all use barrels to age and refine.

…and here are some mock-ups to show how the logo can be implemented:

Logos, Gala Save the Dates & Invitations for Althoff Catholic’s 60th Diamond Anniversary

Posted on January 10, 2024 by JUSTEN HONG

Althoff, an esteemed Catholic high school located in Belleville, Illinois, has played a significant role in the local community since its inception in 1964. As the institution celebrates its 60th “diamond” anniversary, the school confidently placed the responsibility of crafting a commemorative logo, designing save-the-dates, and creating gala invitations in the capable hands of Visual Lure. Enclosed below are the deliverables we designed for their momentous celebration.

Anniversary Logo

We started by crafting the anniversary logo design, aiming to integrate diamonds and their school monogram. Presented below are our initial explorations for the anniversary logo:

…and the final logo lockups:

Gala Save the Dates

Once the logo was complete, we proceeded to design the Save the Dates for the Gala. Here is the selected design, and below that is one of the options — which was our favorite:

Gala Invitations

Once the Save the Dates were approved, we moved directly to completing the invitations for the gala.

The School Crest Updated

Following the successful completion of the initial scope, we were approached to assist in updating their school crest. Despite the existence of several outdated versions, the reproductions were subpar and lacking the necessary vector format essential for high-quality printing and the ability to enlarge the file without loss of clarity or pixelation.

Here are some examples of their old crest, highlighting various issues. Quickly noticeable are spacing problems, size discrepancies, and an overall lack of clarity. Additionally, there are three distinct horses & knights that appear to be old clip art, resulting in a loss of detail and a somewhat blob-like appearance which occurred when they were shrunk down to fit inside the crest. In the first two samples, excessive detail in the helmet and plume made identification challenging – while in the last one, there was insufficient detail, rendering it totally unrecognizable.

Presenting our updated and refined crest design, meticulously crafted to address spacing, proportions, and clarity concerns. All elements have been redrawn by hand, ensuring a fresh and polished appearance. The helmet is now easily identifiable, the illustrations in each quadrant of the shield are fixed and fit perfectly, the proportion of the shield and lances has been harmonized, and all text is now legible.

…and with some added effects/bling:

Need Design Help?

Need save the dates or invitations for a gala or upcoming special event? Looking for a logo design or an upgrade to your existing logo? Require a family or school crest, or refinement and upgrade of an existing one? If so, contact Visual Lure at 618-407-9231 or info@visuallure.com – we would love to help.

Still want to see more? Check out our branding work, our logo design gallery, or our graphic design portfolio.

Click here to learn more about Althoff Catholic High School »

OUR BLOG

CATEGORIES:

Rebranding My Favorite Places – Part II: Dairy Haven

Before & After

Needs a logo spruced up?

Logo & Packaging for New Healthy Dog Snacks Brand

Packaging Design Options:

Packaging Option 1:

Packaging Option 2:

Packaging Option 3:

Packaging Option 4:

More to come…

Need expert branding and package design services?

For further insights into our packaging services, explore:

Cleaning Up & Fixing a Logo to One of My Favorite Restaurants

Here is the before & after:

Needs a logo spruced up?

New Logo for Private Bar/Lounge Coming to O’Fallon, Illinois

Here were our initial explorations which were heavily inspired by bourbon logos and labels:

Logos, Gala Save the Dates & Invitations for Althoff Catholic’s 60th Diamond Anniversary

Anniversary Logo

…and the final logo lockups:

Gala Save the Dates

Gala Invitations

The School Crest Updated

Need Design Help?