OUR BLOG

Here you will find our latest works, company news and more. We update it on a regular basis so be sure to come back soon. Please like, share, pin or tweet the post you enjoy.

Logo, Branding and Website Design & Development for the St. Louis HERO Network

Posted on June 21, 2018 by JUSTEN HONG

The St. Louis HERO Network is a non-for-profit online directory that promotes local first responder and military owned businesses. In addition to the business directory, users can find a help wanted section that features an up-to-date list of local police, fire and EMS departments that are currently hiring, training and classes that are offered by local fire responders (such as CPR and stroke life support), real estate listings, and a calendar of events. It also features a HELP A HERO section where you can make a donation to a local fallen first responder’s family.

The HERO Network came to Visual Lure to help build a website along with a logo and additional collaterals. The new logo features a badge, an arch, and a HERO ribbon. Icons were also included to represent the four types of members. The color palette was inspired and pulled from typical fire responder related colors.

As for the website, it was developed in WordPress using a fully custom, responsive designed theme. The back-end is extremely complex as it integrates e-commerce memberships, an approval process, member listings that can be edited, ad listings with payments, donations, an event calendar, database feeds that automatically organize and populate the directory, custom post types and more.

You can check out some of the designs below, or visit stlheronetwork.com to learn more about the network. The official launch date is June 22nd, 2018.

Learn more about our design services featured in this post:

Logos & Branding | Website Design & Development | Graphic Design

Visual Lure Project Featured in St. Louis AIGA Design Show 23

Posted on June 19, 2018 by JUSTEN HONG

Ever since I joined the St. Louis AIGA, while still studying Graphic Design at SIU Edwardsville, I would go to their Annual Design Show every year to see all the world-class design work coming out of Saint Louis. Eight years ago, I entered what I thought was one of my best logos, but it didn’t make the show. It discouraged me, and it wasn’t until this year that I decided to enter another piece. I am honored to share with you all that my project was selected, and one of my professional goals has been fulfilled.

When I received the email that read “Congratulations, your work has be selected to be in the AIGA St. Louis Design Show 23!” I was both excited and oddly relieved. I think the relieve came from a sense of accomplishment as I’ve had this goal for over 18 years. It also represents the second check mark off my “top three professional goal list”. While still in college, I used to dream of having a logo published in a book called LogoLounge, having a project in the AIGA Design Show, and lastly having work featured in Communication Arts.

To date, I’ve had 31 logos published in 7 different LogoLounge publications, and I can finally say that I’ve had a project in the St. Louis AIGA Design Show. I just have Communication Arts left. I share this not to brag, but to hopefully inspire other graphic designers as design really is a skill that is honed and crafted. You definitely need artistic skill and creativity, but everything else can be learned and improved upon with practice and dedication. A slight obsession with design, color, type and space helps, but if you have the foundation, you really can become a good designer. When I compare my portfolio coming out of college, to my work today, it really does confirm this statement.

This years judges included: Su Mathews Hale – a senior partner at Lippincott, Justin Ahrens – principal and creative director of Rule29, and Ilene Sandler – designer/owner of Treat Street Studios.

About the Project:

Bear River Brewing is a branding project we did for a Tampa, Florida craft beer brewer. Visual Lure actually came up with the name which is based on his son’s, Barrett (which they call Bear) and River, hence Bear River Brewing. The logo depicts a bear rowing a canoe down a river carrying a huge beer bottle with palm trees in the background as a nod to Tampa. One of our favorite pieces is the beer taps which are shaped like canoe paddles.

View the Entire Project »

Logo, Identity & Website for a St. Louis Metro East Railroad Company

Posted on March 15, 2018 by JUSTEN HONG

The Prairie Line is a St. Louis Metro East/Southern Illinois railroad, transportation and logistics company. Lead by a team of highly experienced partners, The Prairie Line prides itself on providing personalized service that often gets lost in the rail industry. Additionally, their ability to cut through red tape and deliver quick decisions (along with their cargo) sets this company apart.

Below you will find everything from the initial logo design options to their newly painted locomotives and custom WordPress website, all which Visual Lure designed.

The Logo:

The top left logo option uses a single line to make two “i”s tying the two word marks together, the top right option (which ended up being the final logo) plays off a line dividing the “P”, the bottom left logo features prairie grasses that make negative space in the type, and the last logo is a P created with a single line that also mimics railroad tracks. Below the options are the final logo lockups.

Color Palette, Typefaces & Paint Scheme:

We selected a color palette inspired by colors of prairie grasses with clean, easy to read typefaces making sure signage and locomotive numbers are readable from a distance. The paint scheme was inspired by the curve in the logo and the placement gives the locomotives a sense of motion.

Custom WordPress Website:

We wrapped up this branding project with a fully custom, responsive designed WordPress website. The site features a sticky header and menu bar for convenient navigation, a couple custom sliders for the “what makes us different” and the “leadership” sections, and an auto-populated news feed that is fed from the fully integrated blog.

CLICK HERE to view more of our branding projects » or CONTACT US today to learn more about any of our branding and design service!

New Website, Catalog & Print Ads for a Colorado Cattle Tag Company

Posted on September 28, 2017 by JUSTEN HONG

Ritchey Livestock ID, based out of a Brighton, Colorado, is the creator and manufacture of the World’s greatest cattle tags! What makes theirs the best? Ritchey tags are 100% fade proof. How? Their tags have a core color with 2 outside colors. The colors are NOT layers, they can not peel apart or separate because they are made out of one solid piece of material. When engraved, or heat stamped, the core color is revealed – therefor the tag number, brand, or whatever information that has been applied never wear offs.

Visual Lure was recently contracted by Ritchey to redesign their e-commerce website. We were in charge of the design, while another company handled the development. The new responsive designed website was built in WordPress using WooCommerce for the online store. Immediately after completing the design of the website, Ritchey re-engaged us to design a new product catalog along with multiple print ads. See samples below:

WordPress/WooCommerce Website Redesign

Ritchey Responsive website design

Like so many other websites, their old site was not mobile friendly, and with Google’s new mobile first indexing and over 1/2 of all web browsing done on smart phones – this was an issue. The new site, now utilizing a responsive design, renders beautifully on all devices.

New Sample Product Website Page

The new e-commerce store, powered by WooCommerce, has been simplified and streamlined to help improve conversion rates. We also implemented conditional logic on many of the product order forms to make the checkout process fell less daunting.

Old Homepage Design:

Old Ritchey Website design

The old website, which looked like a generic template, had tons of issues. It was not responsive, the checkout process was confusing and not user-friendly, and the design was void of all character.

New Homepage Design:

New Ritchey Website Design

The new design now has a rustic aesthetic using weathered wood, old paper, leather and cow hide textures along with cattle photos to appeal more to ranchers, their core target market. In additional to the website, Visual Lure also digitally recreated all their cattle tags to ensure correct colors and product consistency.

Catalog Print Design

Immediately after completing the design of the website, Ritchey hired us to redesign their product catalog. Other than the website, this is their main marketing tool, and like the old site – it too lacked character. Here is the cover and a sample spread from their old catalog:

Old Ritchey Product Catalog

Building a Visually Cohesive Brand

Using the same rustic wood background, old paper and leather textures from the new website, the catalog now complements it, and becomes the first step in the development of creating a visually cohesive brand. Below you can see the new cover, a new ad for their Hook Doctor product, and a couple sample spreads (along with some of the new digitally rendered cattle tags).

New Ritchey Catalog Design

Print Ads

Lastly, Ritchey engaged us to design some of their print ads. Here is the first one we designed announcing the release of their new pink tags:

Ritchey Pink Tag Print Ad

Ad Redesign (Before)

Ritchey Bw Ad1

Ad Redesign (After)

Ritchey Bw Ad 2

Whether you need help with a new e-commerce website, print/graphic design, or assistance with creating a visually cohesive brand – contact Visual Lure today for a FREE quote.

Commemorative Magazine Design for Blackburn College

Posted on September 19, 2017 by JUSTEN HONG

Visual Lure was recently contracted by Blackburn College to design a commemorative magazine to celebrate a highly successful fundraising campaign. Blackburn College, located in Carlinville, IL, was founded in 1837 and is affiliated with the United States Presbyterian Church. It provides a coeducational student body with a rigorous, distinctive, and affordable liberal arts education that prepares graduates to be responsible, productive citizens.

The magazine features a clean, corporate, institutional design with a financial summary, infographics about the campaign, large images with ample white space, and inspiring staff & alumni quotes spread throughout the magazine. Check out some of the main pages and spreads below.

Blackburn Commemorative Magazine Design

Our Graphic Design Services

Click here to learn more about our graphic design services, or here to view our graphic design portfolio. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about our design services or to receive a FREE quote.

Logo & Package Design for a St. Louis Supplements Company

Posted on November 10, 2016 by JUSTEN HONG

2nd Impact is a St. Louis, Missouri based supplement and nutrition company that produces a superior line of Whey Protein and Creatine products. They use the most expensive, highest grade ingredients to produce a premium line of supplements. They initially came to Visual Lure for a logo, and after completion of that, they immediately engaged us to design all their packaging. See the progression of the logo and packaging below.

2nd Impact provided the exact colors they wanted and requested a simple text-based logo. Here are the initial logo design options:

…and here is round 2 of the logo…

…and here are the final logos in both color and black and white:

Once the logo was completed we immediately went into designing the packaging as they wanted to get into production right away. Here are the first two design rounds of the package design:

…and here are all the final labels for their initial product line:

View the entire branding package here »

Click here to view our entire package design portfolio, or click here to learn more about our packaging design services.

For a package design quote, please call 618.407.9231 or email us at info@visuallure.com.

Package Design for Supplement Freeze Pops

Posted on October 14, 2016 by JUSTEN HONG

Visual Lure recently completed new packaging design for Amino Freeze Pops. Amino Freeze Pops are frozen treats for adult athletes and body builder that are packed with Electrolytes and BCAAs. Essentially, it is a frozen post-workout recovery drink. They provide a boost of energy, help with hydration, can increase stamina and aid in building muscle.

The old design featured icicle shapes that didn’t quite complement the logo/brand, and their attempt to visually highlight the Electrolytes and BCAAs fell short. The new design is much more cohesive and polished. Learn more about Amino at www.aminofreezepops.com.

The Power of a Hashtag

Are you using #hashtags in your social media strategy? If not, you should be, because you never know who will find you when you do. Landing this project is a great example of the power of a hashtag. Here’s the story: We recently completed new packaging design for 2nd Impact, a new supplement company based out of St. Louis, MO. We had just finished some of their designs and we posted them on our Visual Lure Instagram account. When we posted the images, we used the following hashtags: #PackagingDesign, #PackageDesign, #SupplementLabelDesign and #SupplementBrand. Within 30 minutes Amino Freeze Pops had followed us on Instagram, and we were having a conversation over the phone. We think that’s both crazy and amazing! A company based out of Boynton Beach, Florida, a company we would never have run into, is now a client all due to a hashtag.

Amino Freeze Pops Packaging

Our Packaging Design Services

Learn more about our package design services, or click here to view our packaging design portfolio »