Case Study

Showing the brand in a new light​

Randy Burkett Lighting Design

Randy Burkett Lighting Design Case Study
  • rbldi.com
  • Webster Groves, Missouri
  • 30+ years in business
  • Project Focus 2017 IES Awards received: 3

Founded in 1988, Randy Burkett Lighting Design is a full-service lighting consultancy focused on implementing vital, sustainable solutions in built environments. Randy Burkett Lighting Design provides lighting for some of the most prominent buildings, monuments, landscapes, and public spaces in North America, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO.​

Services Involved
  • Branding & identity
  • Creative production
  • Website development

Setting the scene for a better brand experience

As they approached their 30th anniversary, the team at Randy Burkett Lighting Design (RBLD) realized the timing was right to refresh their brand online and off. In addition to an updated look and feel, the firm wanted to better manage content, improve SEO efforts, and deliver a responsive, highly functional experience that can grow with their needs.

Randy Burkett Lighting Design Business CardsRandy Burkett Lighting Design Business Card Detail

Creating the right brand experience in any light

With a goal of creating an experience that speaks to multiple audiences with equal clarity and authority, Spry first focused on defining the brand in terms of his heritage and vision for the future.

Through discovery, stakeholder interviews and service design exercises, Spry gained a thorough understanding of the firm’s prestigious history and unique value proposition, prioritized the project and helped RBLD focus on the most important elements:

  • An elegant brand identity that is equally relevant to architects, building managers, interior and landscape designers, project and non-design professionals.
  • A responsive web design to provides a more satisfying experience on any device
  • A modern, robust CMS to grow with the firm and features:
  • Projects in an accessible showcase, engaging multiple stakeholders
  • Layouts that maximize the web canvas, highlighting beautiful work
  • A multi-layered content solution the firm can manage – including a blog to highlight culture and work – that appeals to multiple audiences
  • Incorporates easy-to-manage SEO tool

 

Spry worked to modernize and refresh the brand, beginning with the logo and typeface. The new logo remains loyal to the original, with an updated typeface and treatment that includes a 45-degree two-tone background, as if bathing a faceted structure in light.

Randy Burkett Lighting Design wireframes

With new brand guidelines in hand, Spry analyzed the data from discovery to develop visitor journeys, information architecture and site navigation identifying primary landing areas of the site. Wireframes were built to address various content priorities and chart out the multi-layered messaging approach, as well as indicate calls-to-action and other user experience cues.

With the structure, framework and experience paths in place, Spry focused on creating the visual landscape and format of the new site. The visual aesthetic was a priority for RBLD, and Spry ensured every user interaction on any device delivered the same functional elegance.

A magazine-style layout making full use of the web canvas showcases details of RBLD’s work like never before, enabling multiple versions, font and color treatments while remaining visually identifiable.​

Randy Burkett Lighting Design Web Design

“From the very onset of the process through to the website launch, Spry kept our goals at the forefront while guiding us to an end product has exceeded our expectations.​”

- Rich Fisher, Project Designer

The new mobile-optimized rbldi.com

Showcasing the past, illuminating the future

Spry leveraged the WordPress CMS with the Advanced Custom Field plugin and Zurb’s FoundationPress theme to develop fresh, new site. With multiple features to maximize audience interest, the site was developed with layout templates to facilitate efficient content updates and additions while maintaining the site’s elegant design.

Client-selected work is highlighted on the home page, while randomized images in the mashed change with every page load. Customizable content blocks are easily editable to quickly highlight promotions or announcements. A portfolio section is sorted by industry, with projects cross-linked with related work and services, effectively communicating the scope of the firm’s work while encouraging visitor exploration.

The updated brand identity offers a sleek, modern interpretation of the firm’s original logo, building on existing equities with bold strokes and supporting it with an inviting, engaging web presence. Since the site launch in September 2016, RBLD has reported a noticeable uptick in new leads generated by the website and the site and brand identity continue to receive positive praise from existing and potential partners.

Gaining the insights to shine light on the customer’s perspective, Spry Digital updated the Randy Burkett Lighting Design identity and digital properties in a way that respected the firm’s legacy while speaking to the highly technical world of contemporary lighting design.​

60%

increase monthly active users

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