How to Turn Your Conceptualized Apartment Logo Ideas Into Full-Fledged Multifamily Branding
Multifamily branding has become increasingly important in a competitive market. It seems new buildings and developments are popping up daily, and so your property has to be able to stand out from the crowd and appeal to prospective residents.
It’s a daunting task.
Obviously, standard multifamily branding rules and ideas apply — a good brand is a good brand, regardless of the industry — but there are definitely a few things that apartment marketing and design professionals need to keep in mind when it comes to multifamily branding.
This first “truth” might sting a little.
1. Don’t Isolate the Apartment Logo
This one’s a little tough for designers to swallow. There are a few constants in multifamily branding agencies:
- Most ideas start with coffee or cocktails.
- If it takes more than a sentence to explain the apartment logo, it’s too complicated.
- The first round of multifamily branding is the brand mark presented front and center on a blank page. This is a nice, striking way to present a visual, but it’s nearly useless in terms of multifamily branding.
Sure, you can go ahead and do it — isolating the mark helps the conversation about the apartment logo itself. Just know that you also need to be prepared to show it in various applications (yes, even in presentation No. 1). While the mark may look nice solo, it’s time to start thinking about the signage construction. How does the mark look on a monument sign? Or on the exterior of that snazzy high rise? What about letterhead and business cards and new resident materials? These applications are crucial to design for multifamily developers.
Think through all the applications and present at least a handful alongside your design concepts; otherwise, you’ll find yourself doing a lot more talking than showing in that first presentation.
For example, here’s a logo incorporation on business cards:
2. Don’t Forget Wayfinding
Wayfinding is possibly the most important piece of the multifamily branding package. How do apartment renters know where to go and find various amenities? How does the pizza guy know where building 11 is? What kind of signage is going to identify this building as the fitness center and that building as the mailroom?
In most traditional applications, wayfinding follows the brand and can be built out later. But wayfinding in multifamily developments is very much an integral part of the brand and should be treated as such. Conceptualize wayfinding in the early stages of multifamily branding or it may feel disconnected or forced.
3. Lockups, Lockups, Lockups
Designed an icon? Awesome! A nice wordmark to go with it? Nice job. Now, let’s talk about horizontal and vertical lockups.
A lockup is the final form of a logo with all elements locked in position. For consistency’s sake, the lockup should not be altered in any way. A good lockup will create a sense of connection and continuity between the elements.
Go ahead and add in the name of the neighborhood. What about the developer? Before long, you’re putting together a wordmark for “The Lofts at Uptown Park Design District By Development Residential Holdings.”
Make sure you’ve thought through all these variations. It’s a time-consuming process, but the earlier you work on it, the fewer revisions you’ll need to make in rounds two and three.
4. Have a Color Plan
When it comes to multifamily branding, color applications are definitely tougher. This stuff is mostly going to be outside, exposed to the elements. Your color palette will be displayed on signs and construction banners that are going to get covered in dust and exposed to direct sunlight all day.
A lot of signage companies only print one-color or two-color on certain signs. Do you have a plan for that? Maybe this is not the time to deploy your advanced gradient meshes.
Reap the Benefits of Strong Multifamily Branding
So, there you have it. This is just the beginning of getting inside the multifamily branding mindset. Every great brand has a plan. And in a crowded market, a great brand can resonate and differentiate. Multifamily branding is more than a logo — it’s an emotional experience, a taste of a lifestyle, and a framework through which to grow.
Did all of this multifamily branding talk sound overwhelm you? Don’t be afraid to trust the experts. At Swifty, we do all the work so you don’t have to; you can reap all the benefits of a strong multifamily brand and strategic marketing campaign without halting your day-to-day duties.
Want to learn more about multifamily branding and how to develop a strong apartment logo? Download our free Multifamily Branding Guide to get all the details!
Want to learn more about Swifty or have questions about what we do? Check out our YouTube video for a super fun, quick explainer on what we have to offer!
