A new real estate development brand comprises a wide range of creative elements. From content tone of voice to visuals like color palettes, patterns, shapes, and font usage, a lot is thrown in the mix in order to ultimately create a unique, coherent, and well-rounded brand identity. However, so much focus is given on creating a visually striking brand, that only an afterthought is sometimes given to how effective the design actually is; that is, in helping to spark enough customer curiosity in your property so that people want to explore the space via pictures and/or a property tour.
Your Brand Has To Stand Out
When minimal thought is invested in brand effectiveness, the developer’s bottom line suffers, and the following truism rings clearly: a pretty brand does not automatically guarantee it stands out from the brands of other competing properties. Indeed, in order to rivet eyeballs, a brand not only has to appeal-to-the-eye, but also hold attention and be memorable, vis-a-vis the brands of your competitors.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll specifically focus on logo design as we delve into what effective new real estate development branding comprises. The principles we here discuss should and can apply to everything from advertising to merchandising to naming.
A Bold Logo Design Is The Key
Go over in your mind the brand logos you’ve come across and remember. We contend that memorable brand logos are rarely of a ‘trendy’ type or similar to a number of brands in the field. A word that defines the memorable from the boringly meh among brand logos is, actually: Boldness.
Remember the last time you were at a wine shop , choosing wines to taste and savor? Can you recall a single wine brand with an attention-worthy logo? You think: Yes, some stood out, however, the vast majority were a snooze. The logos that caught your fancy — so bold and visually compelling from the rest – brought you significantly closer to tasting, or outright buying the wine bottle.
The same concept applies to your new home development. Though, we concede, it won’t solely be the striking logo design that is going to prompt potential tenants to book the property. The appeal of the amenities; the location — proximity to work, schools and shops; as well as the space and the interiors’ finishes, instead, are what will lead to new home sales or lease-ups. OK, so why should you care about a bold brand design?
Easy. A bold and visually compelling brand design can make the potential buyer or renter want to stop, look around and explore. Ultimately, you need a design that triggers interest – the kind that helps the person think “I can envision myself living here.” This is certainly true for new real estate developments. When only fence wraps and a construction site are visible, bold branding is all-too critical for creating an appealing vibe that leads to lead generation, as well as pre-sales and pre-leasing.
Be Smart About The Logo Design
These days, major thinking for your logo design is required to create an image that captivates and compels. The days when simply framing “The Cedars at Valley Heights” with some trees, or whatnot, and expecting this to be enough, are over. Since then, people have grown in their sophistication, and call for brands that cater to their specific interests and lifestyle. Or, more specifically, brands that are in tune with their idealized self-images. Aspirational, the brand must always be.
Aspiration plays a pivotal role when a person is exploring where to live or lease a store space. What you’re selling is not a storage place, or a garage. You’re pitching an area. A community. A lifestyle. And increasingly, people want their living or retail space to reflect how interesting and original they feel inside.
So how best to approach logo brand design in the days of people wanting sophistication and originality? Simply embrace the unexpected. Find inspiration for elements from the location. Know the design of the spaces. Study the area. Determine the target demographic. You can then execute by developing an aspirational vision of the ideal kind of life for the target demographic.
For instance, a bold brand logo catering to millennial creatives who wish for a play/work/live community is a world apart from a bold brand targeting active senior adult living. But your brand logo can grab the attention of both. It all begins by asking the following: “If I were the target potential buyer/renter for this space, what kind of logo would prompt me to stop and learn more about this attractive property?”
Aim For A Not So Perfect Logo
In making your brand logo work for you, don’t make the mistake of thinking the brand logo design has to be perfect and pretty. Spring for dissonance, as tweaked-till-perfect design is often bland. It’s boringly pretty, with no standout features that trigger a major “Wow” or two. Asymmetry, imperfections, bold typographic choices, and even unanticipated color bursts can altogether create an attractive dissonant effect that leads customers to think: brash, bold, edgy, interesting and unique.
Also, avoid having your brand logo ‘fit’ in well with the signage of the neighborhood. However, if this is your goal, save yourself time, and simply put a for-sale or lease sign out without bothering to identify the new property. For actual success and profits, your goal should be to stand out by a mile while resonating with the target demographic and community. In order to attract the latter, it’s critical to choose impactful, bold design choices over elements that are just perfect and/or pretty, but not attention-grabbing.
This is tricky to pull off, but this is why you need a team of creative professionals to guide you through every step of the brand development process. Not only can we create a bold brand logo for you, we can also make sure it works across many aspect ratios on the Internet and smart devices, as it’s clear most people start their new home search on the web. In all sizes, all ratios, across many mediums, our brand logos can prompt a renter/buyer to want to visit your property, optimizing lease-ups and property purchases.
By Denise Recalde