The real estate industry is one that heavily relies on customer relationships. Both with real estate companies and agents. Every transaction here involves a major life decision in most cases. After all, people trust realtors in finding their dream home or a safe abode for their family. Or even in finding the right kind of tenants or homebuyers for their properties.
Naturally, people look for credibility. The strength and reputation of a real estate company before they take a step. That’s why real estate businesses and agents, no matter how small or big their scope is, cannot take branding lightly. Need ideas to strengthen your brand? Why not start with the logo?
Real estate logos can be deceptively simple to design. At the same time, considering the huge number of businesses in this industry you need a design that sets your brand apart. One that makes people stop and take notice. A logo that speaks volumes about your brand and builds trust. Wondering how to design one that does all that? We have some easy and effective tips to help you design stunning real estate logos.
Yes, building trust should be your greatest priority when it comes to designing real estate logos. Because in most cases, you are not selling a house. You are helping people make their dreams come true.
So, your logo design should tell people that they can count on you for finding their dream home. It should tell them that you take your business seriously. Only then will they be ready to entrust a huge task in your hands.
After all, real estate is not cheap. And when people have to make such an expensive decision, they are least likely to go with a brand they do not trust. Or one that does not already have a good clientele.
But how can you create credibility through a logo? Do you think you will trust a brand that has a poor-looking logo? Or one that has a logo that is too difficult to interpret? Or even something that looks unprofessional for that matter? Not at all. Remember that they have plenty of options. One wrong signal in your logo and they will not hesitate to choose your competitor.
We’ll give you an example. Take a look at the below real estate logos.
Logo 1
Logo 2
If you come across a real estate listing page and see the above two logos on the page, which one do you think will be easier to trust? If you are drawn to the second logo a little more, you are not alone. While there is nothing seriously wrong with the first one, the second one looks cleaner and more straightforward. And this makes it easier to trust. That’s how real estate logos can make or break the trust that target customers develop.
You can hardly ever go wrong with a logo that tells people what your business does. But the problem is in an industry like real estate, the symbols you can use to represent what you deal with can be limited. House, apartment, roof, keys – these are the common icons you see in real estate logos. So, if you use something that makes your logo look cliched, all your efforts in building the logo will be lost.
The key is to identify how to incorporate this iconography into your logo without making it look like a very common design. Try manipulating the negative space for example. If you can create the symbol of a house or keys within one of the letters in a wordmark logo then you end up creating something fun and inspiring.
The famous American real estate firm, Compass has a chic logo that is hard to forget.
By creating the symbol of a compass within the “O” in the brand name, the design remains compact and yet visually memorable. It represents a sense of “direction” in finding your home. Or an indication that the brand helps you find your destination, just like a compass does. Such associations can be valuable in strengthening a brand’s reputation.
What kind of properties do you deal with? Luxury homes or family homes? Apartment communities or villas? Is there a particular niche or property type that you want your target customers to relate your business to? Then use your logo to capture the mood.
For example, take a look at this logo below.
And a monogram version of the above logo here:
Did you quickly conclude that this logo belongs to the luxury real estate category? If you did then you are absolutely right. Aaron Kirman is one of the most popular real estate agents for luxury properties in Los Angeles.
In an attempt to add a lot of meaning to the logo and to tune it to suit the target audience if you end up creating something that is complicated, the whole purpose is lost. Do you want customers to assume that working with your real estate company might be as complicated as deciphering your logo design? Definitely not. So, keep your design simple. In fact, simple logo designs are versatile and easier to work with.
Vonovia, a well-known German real estate firm has a minimalistic logo that is easy to remember.
A fuss-free design like this one has several advantages:
Real estate businesses today need to have an agile marketing plan. One that accommodates marketing campaigns to target all the right types of audiences through all the right channels. You will be putting up billboards to build brand awareness, sending emails to nurture leads, and issuing brochures to help customers with valuable information. In all these marketing designs your logo will have a critical role to play. So real estate logos should be versatile.
For example, scaling the logo up or down based on the surface where you would position it should not affect the legibility or the overall impact.
How do you ensure this? By choosing a legible font and a clear layout. Here’s an example.
And if you have a combination logo like the one in the above picture, there is an added advantage. People remember you both by the symbol and the wordmark in it. So, you can use either of these based on whatever looks good in the design in the picture.
A bit of customization can be that one secret ingredient that gives your logo a competitive edge. In fact, this trick works particularly well in logos for real estate agents.
Allison Chiarmonte is one of the top real estate agents in New York and her logo instantly makes a connection with the viewers. The breezy font style and the clean layout are just a few things that make this logo unique.
Custom fonts, a personalized symbol, or even a memorable monogram are a few design details that can give your logo your personal touch.
The above six tips will give you direction if you ever find yourself struggling to come up with the perfect design for your real estate logo. Always remember, when you design with your audience in mind, your design will be a success. Keep the design simple and easy for your audience to understand while also ensuring that it has some unique element that makes it easy to remember. That’s how you build real estate logos that attract attention.
