Mod Real Estate Case Study

Mod Real Estate

Rebranding for Sacramento’s mid-century modern real estate experts. Below is a walkthrough of our process, including all four of our proposed identity directions.

BRANDING
Visual Identity
SIGNAGE
MOTION
BUSINESS SYSTEM
SOCIAL TEMPLATES

Leveling up with a rebrand

Mod Real Estate is run by husband and wife team, Gaby and Matt. Founded in 2016, Mod has been building a reputation as experts in mid-century modern (mid-mod) realty within Sacramento. However, they felt they had outgrown their do-it-yourself branding and wanted a more professional and elevated identity.

We began the rebrand process by meeting with Gaby and Matt to discuss goals, challenges, aesthetics, existing brand assets, and competitors. We also gained insights into real estate and mid-mod architecture.

Once we had aligned on goals, our team went to work on developing our identity concepts. Below is the final before and after of their primary logo mark.

Old logo

New logo

Our north stars

The creative brief for the rebrand: create a new brand identity that is distinctly mid-mod, but not in a cliché way.

Keywords to design against: the new Mod Real Estate should be perceived as elevated, luxurious, trustworthy, experienced, smart, friendly and savvy.

Visual research

We looked at the history of mid-mod architecture, and the key traits of the architectural genre (exposed beams, clerestory windows, etc). We salivated over the mid-mod aesthetic in graphic design, furniture, color, typography, and lifestyle. We learned about mid-mod housing communities in the Sacramento area, and delighted over old housing brochures and vintage blueprints.

Mid-century modern fireplace on top of colorful geometric tile and behind a green couch

Wavy black and white concrete bordering sand and palm trees

Vintage magazine showcasing mid-century modern firplaces

Urban Zotel Guitar in Hi-Hi record cover

Package design for tinned fish from Hollandse Vishandel

The Daily Democrat newspaper clipping about Christmas in a mid-century modern home in 1970

Streng Brothers/Carter Sparks home design house listing from 1976

Vintage photo of a woman in a swim suit standing in from of a mid-mod house

Four distinct concepts

Armed with a wealth of knowledge and an embarrassment of riches in inspiration we ultimately presented four distinct brand concepts to our client—you can ogle all four directions below.

Concept 1

Contour

This concept feels timeless while honoring the distinct mid-mod style through typography and color palette. The graphic shapes and frames you’ll see throughout this brand concept are inspired by residential floor plans, as well as the signature angles of a mid-mod roofline.

Mod 1

Logo for concept one.

Key inspirational image for this concept.

Mockup of yard sign and home page, using the floor plan-inspired motif.

Concept 2

Beam

An elevated concept that speaks more to luxury, and higher-value houses. This brand celebrates the contrast between the clean lines of mid-mod architecture and organic, abstract nature. We use the word beam to speak to the literal exposed beam style of mid-mod houses, and the more ethereal beams of light that might shine through a window.

Mod 2

Logo for concept two.

Key inspiration imagery: palm springs aesthetic, exposed beams, light.

Mockup of a post card and flyer.

Concept 3

Undulate

This concept takes its cues from the more funky shapes within the mid-mod style, making it the most friendly brand direction. Undulate refers to the movement within the logomark itself and the patterns we created inspired by the shores of Rio de Janeiro (where Gaby once lived) and the distinct shape of some of the more iconic furniture of the era.

Mod 3

Logo for concept three.

Key inspiration images: the sidewalks of Rio de Janeiro (our client has Brazilian family), and the shape of classic mid-mod fireplaces.

Mockup of an an open house sign, and the grid layout.

Concept 4

Nest

We centered this concept around the idea of the home as a nest. The graphic style is retro and chic, and the logo design itself is savvy and smart. The O in Mod is nested within the negative space, allowing the center shape to be read both as an O and as an I for mid-mod.

Mod 4

Logo for conept four.

Key conceptual images: the idea of the home as a nest, and the smooth lines in mid-mod furniture.

Mockup up of a post card.

While we hold each concept dear to our hearts, we were extra enthusiastic about the playful direction they ultimately chose.

entryway in mid-century modern home with a green door and

Photo of Mod owner/realtor holding a cup of coffee in front of a laptop

Custom logotype

With a name like Mod, we knew we had to take the opportunity to create an entirely custom wordmark. These letter forms are inspired by the groovier aspects of the mid-mod aesthetic and are completely custom.

A Mod-ular brand

We’re not sorry about this pun. We contrasted the organic movement in the logotype with a geometric grid system. The resulting layouts are flexible and full of genre-appropriate color blocks, buffered by a system of organic shapes and patterns.