Real: A new voice in real estate

May 17

CLIENT
Real Broker

ROLE
Brand Identity, Logo Design, Strategy, Brand Guidelines

FEATURED
Inman News

TEAM
Marcelo Fontana

Challenge
Few decisions are more important than buying a home, and real estate agents are the ones who guide buyers through that process. But the platform that agents use to conduct their business hasn’t changed much in decades. When I interviewed at Real, a new startup in the space, I quickly realized that its founders had a powerful idea. They wanted to revolutionize the brokerage model by putting agents first – amplifying their agency. They did this by establishing a decentralized, tech-focused brokerage “hub” that offers agents better commission splits, more flexibility, modern technology, and the ability to run their business how they see fit. Real needed a brand that was just as revolutionary in the space.

Solution
I wanted Real’s logo to be as direct as its name, to cut through the noise of the competitive real estate industry. The logo is modern, using a grid and sharp corners to form an easily recognizable wordmark that helps it stand out from a sea of traditional and boring brokerages. The R and L of the logo provided the brand with a flexible yet powerful graphic device. As an ambigram, the logo couldn’t be easier: upside down or inside out, it’s still Real. As a monogram, it offers a simple solution for smaller sizes. Finally, the R and L of the logo is both an identifier for the brand and a framing device. It creates a space to highlight the most important brand – the agent.

When I started at Real in 2016, the company was small – I was only the fourth US employee. Seven years later, Real has over 10,000 agents in 46 states and Canada. It is listed on Nasdaq and recently broke the top 20 US brokerages by sale volume (coming in at #18). As Real has exploded in scale and popularity, the original logo has remained unchanged. The design’s flexibility has allowed it to expand together with the platform.

“Real has redone all of its branding, and it looks sharp.” — Inman News

Rallying around the frame
The R and L are so simple that their shape can be imitated using just your fingers. When crafting the Real brand, I envisioned a collective, unofficial hand gesture for our community to use. It worked: it continues to spread all over social media, “meme-ifying” the brand in a way that promotes its community and culture.

A one-stop shop to rep your brand
Real’s decentralized model anticipated the recent shift to remote work: Real agents have no physical offices and are distributed all over the continent. A community as spread out as this one needed easy access to Real merchandise. For 2 years, our team released a new item in the store every week, creating buzz and constantly responding to the demands of our agents. It was scalable, manageable, and helped our small marketing team to continue to give our agents the marketing materials they needed to grow their businesses.