New York City is known for being one of the most fast-paced cities in the world – and in the age of short attention spans, first impressions are more important than ever. Graphic design for real estate needs to be as concise as an elevator pitch. Rock solid branding tells clients who you are and what you’re about instantly. To do this, you need a bold yet flexible logo to get your voice out there.Â
As a starting point for branding, you will need to think about a few things:
- What imagery can be associated with your company
- What color scheme expresses the vibe you’re going for
- Influential shapes used as a design element
- Taglines and mission statements
Good Design Makes A Good Impression
A sloppy brand suggests that a business is disorganized and unreliable. If they don’t care about their logo and identity, they aren’t likely to care about their clients and deliver quality service. Complicated or busy logos are equally destructive because they frustrate people and cause them to quickly lose interest.
Keeping it simple is vital. But at the same time, you don’t want to be that company whose logo looks like they typed it into a word document.
A great example is the development at 100 Barrow in NYC that embodies the elegance of the West Village with a clean design that is easily carried through to other collateral.
https://www.pentagram.com/work/100-barrow?rel=sector&rel-id=16
Color Is Key
We’ve all heard that color influences people’s moods at this point, and we can tell you it’s absolutely true.
- Blue feels calmingÂ
- Yellow represents happiness or cautionÂ
- Red is intense and passionate
- Orange has an energetic and enthusiastic quality
- Black is sexy and powerfulÂ
- White conveys purity and cleanliness
Paying attention to color combinations puts you ahead of the game when deciding your identifier. The way your company’s color scheme makes your clients feel affects their decisions. Color combinations should make clients feel something and reinforce your company’s values.
Many real estate brokerages use dark blue in their identities as it comes off as professional and reassuring. The brands that use non-traditional colors are often startups or attempting to portray a youthful vitality. The orange in NextHome’s logo gives the company a modern, friendly approach, whereas Red Oak’s red (obviously) reinforces their bold and energetic values.
https://www.pentagram.com/work/nexthome?rel=sector&rel-id=16
https://1000watt.net/when-fine-isnt-good-enough/#
The Influence of Shape
Similar to colors, shapes can represent values or feelings.
- Circles are comforting and they express a connection
- Triangles convey structure and energy
- Squares represent organization and protection
Symmetrical designs are balanced and appealing to the human brain. While asymmetry is an excellent way to be dynamic, use caution when including it in your logo.
The Greenwich Lane is a residence in the West Village that used rectangular shapes to create an abstract rendering of the building. The shape portrays the general concept that the condominiums are very modern and sophisticated.
https://www.pentagram.com/work/the-greenwich-lane?rel=sector&rel-id=16
Your Visuals Should Highlight Your Niche
In real estate especially, visuals can be related to your neighborhood or representative of the type of property you’re selling. It can also be a mark that creates the vibe of the property you are selling using shapes, as mentioned previously.
This logo for Urban Strategies cleverly captures what the company is about by turning skyscrapers into chess pieces. Without knowing anything about the business, you can easily deduce that they’re involved with city building planning based on the chess pieces that represent the strategy element.
Read This, If Nothing Else
Real estate branding should make a statement about a company’s integrity and the services they offer. Colors, shapes and text can be used intentionally to express these sentiments, and at REIGN we know exactly how to combine these together to create a beautiful identity system. Contact us to get going on yours.