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Typography Casing for Good Apartment Marketing Design

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design.

When you’re designing your marketing materials, it’s easy to get caught up in the photos and design elements. These components can make a big impact and immediately attract the viewer’s attention—but there’s another part of design that’s equally important and often overlooked: typography casing.

Your approach to typography can make or break your apartment marketing design. While font style, size, and color work together, it’s also integral that you consider your text casing. Whether you opt for all uppercase or title case for a headline, it’s a strategic decision that can define the hierarchy of information on the page, but also helps with ease of reading. Learn more about the different casing options, and when to use them, to level up your community’s marketing materials. 

Types of Typography Casing

There are four main kinds of typography casing—and there’s a time and place for each. Be sure to keep the casing in mind to find the most readable and visually appealing design approach. 

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Uppercase

Uppercase typography is when every letter is capitalized—also known as “all caps”. This type of typography should be used sparingly, typically in headlines at the very top of a design. This style of type is perfect for drawing attention to a short—but very important—phrase. Things like “Leasing Special,” “Your Tagline,” or “Now Open” are ideal candidates for an all-uppercase treatment. It’s also a smart option for calls to action to make them stand out.

Lowercase

Lowercase typography is when you use all small letters for an entire word or phrase. Using all lowercase letters isn’t necessarily grammatically correct, but can be used when you’re making an intentional and stylistic design choice. This style is best reserved for a short, attention-grabbing headline (similar to those used for all uppercase). Using lowercase typography will give your designs a slightly softer look.

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Sentence Case

Sentence case is the style used when writing sentences—the first letter is capitalized and there is punctuation at the end of your phrase. This is most commonly used for body copy, long-form writing like blog posts, or social media captions. It’s helpful to increase readability and make your assets easy to understand. You can also choose to use sentence case for headlines or sub-headers, though they are more commonly written in title case. 

Title Case

Title case is when you capitalize the first letter of all major words in a phrase or headline. Title case is most commonly used in headlines and subheaders, but is best reserved for only one or the other. When you have a headline and subhead living together in any design, consider leveraging title case for the headline and uppercase for the subhead to create a stronger visual hierarchy. Title case is also sometimes used for calls-to-action to better differentiate them from body copy.

typography Hierarchy

Typography Casing Combos & Hierarchy

The best part about typography? You don’t have to choose just a single style. Mixing and matching different options can help you create a more dynamic, visually interesting design piece. Some common combinations include:

  • UPPERCASE HEADLINE & Sentence case body copy
  • Title Case Headline & Sentence case body copy
  • UPPERCASE HEADLINE & Title Case Subhead
  • Sentence case body copy & UPPERCASE CTA
  • Title Case Headline & UPPERCASE CTA

Especially for designs that are text-heavy, it’s important to add variety to your typography. This will create added visual interest and create a clear separation between different types of copy. But whatever combinations you choose, be sure to strive for consistency. Every headline on the page should use the same style—same with body copy, calls-to-action, subheads, and eyebrows. This approach creates a predictable visual hierarchy, so viewers understand which copy is most important at just a glance.

Font sizing can also help you create a clear type hierarchy. Typically, your headline should be the largest font on the page, followed by the subheadline. The body copy is often the smallest. Thinking strategically about your font size will help you move the reader’s eye down the page and help get them to engage further. It also helps you to ensure that they get the most important information first. 

 

If you need help defining your community’s visual style, it might be best to enlist the help of the experts. At zipcode creative, we have helped countless communities develop their branding, establish their visual guidelines, and craft their marketing materials. Get in touch with our team today to get started!  

Curb Appeal Signage: Apartment Design

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design.

First Impressions = Curb Appeal Signage

Creative apartment marketing is reliant on brand awareness—and a sign for your community is the first touch. Think of it like an introduction. And also be aware: first impressions absolutely count. When it comes to curb appeal, signage should be like a greeting—friendly, welcoming and memorable.

ONE AND DONE

Something that’s great about signage? It’s cost-effective. Your curb appeal gets a boost, and your budget also stretches a little farther. Once you put a sign up, it’s there and you don’t have to pay for it over and over, like digital ads. It’s on 24/7/365!

BE HELPFUL

Signs are a guide that’s always there, rain or shine, telling your visitors what to do and where to go. It’s also a nice way to showcase any offers or open houses you have going on. Being helpful is a big part of customer service—the foundation that customer loyalty is built on.

Stand Out With Signs Out

GRAB ATTENTION

Paid ads are targeted. Which is fine, unless you’re trying to expand beyond your typical audience. With curb appeal signage around your community, you can grab the attention of anyone who is walking, jogging, or driving by. More leads can equate to more leases!

DISPLAY OFFERS

Your prospective residents don’t know what they don’t know—in other words, if you don’t tell them about leasing specials, they won’t take advantage of them. Use bootleg signs to show off your most tantalizing amenities and start increasing the interest in the community.

REINFORCE YOUR BRAND

Signage—especially big ones (read more on that below) can help underscore your community’s brand. Improve your customer loyalty, appear more professional, and increase your brand awareness, all with a few well-placed (and well-designed) signs.

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The Best Signs for Community Curb Appeal

FLAGS

Also called feather signs, flags are an attractive approach to boosting your community’s curb appeal. These polyester signs can come single- or double-sided, and they’re often used to display a quick call-out. They can be placed singly or they can be staked in the ground in a group to show information, all in a row. “Now Leasing” on one flag, next to another that shows your phone number or website could be a winning combo. Make sure you match your brand colors and use a clear font—use one that’s in your apartment’s brand style guide.


BOULEVARD BANNERS

There’s an air of hometown happiness with classic boulevard banners. Capitalize on the attention of passersby with multiple double-sided callouts in a row on the posts outside your property: “Welcome Home! Leasing Now! Great Specials!” Again, be sure to use your logo, your font, and your colors to align with everything else you put your name on. Boulevard banners are an elegant way to show off your property (even more curb appeal!) and capture more prospects.

BUILDING BANNERS

(OR FENCE OR GARAGE BANNERS)

There’s no such thing as wasted space when you use banner signs on your building, fence, or garage. They’re big, they’re beautiful (if you do them right!) and they’re a game-changer. Use them to give a “Coming Soon” update if you’re in an early phase of construction. Use a big banner to give a few extra details about your apartment community, like bedroom options and your website. Show off a beautiful picture of your apartment interiors alongside your tagline. Whatever you choose, keep it clean and simple with a clear call-to-action. Done well, these make your property more attractive with extra color and interest.

BOOTLEGS

(OR BANDIT SIGNS)

We love a good bootleg sign at zipcode creative. Also called yard signs, these are cost effective, and you can easily install them yourself. With bootleg signs, keep in mind what you would want to know about an apartment while walking by—are they accepting lease applications? Do they offer 2 bedrooms? Do they have any good leasing specials right now? Make sure, as with everything else, that the fonts, colors, and style on your cute, tidy bandit signs are indicative of your community’s brand.

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Apartment Community Signage Best Practices

Now that you have some ideas around what signage is best for curb appeal, it’s good to make sure you have some best practices in mind, too:

CONSISTENCY

Colors. Fonts. Style. Taglines. You should know the drill by now, but we’re here to remind you: Get and stay consistent so that your brand recognition is off the charts.

PROFESSIONAL DESIGN

Don’t leave it to the sign company. It’s a sign company. They make signs. Find a trusted branding and graphic designer who knows multifamily (like zipcode, hi!) to make beautiful, clear signs that will attract your next best resident.

CLEAR CONTENT

A pro designer knows how much info should be shared on a single sign. Enough to read it easily and quickly and have enough content to convey a basic message.

PLACEMENT

High traffic areas are the best spot for your beautiful new signage. Think, too, about what audience you’re reaching—drivers? Keep the message simple and large so they can read it quickly. Foot traffic? Add in some directional signage with arrows to beckon them into the leasing office. Neighbors? Place signage visible from the building across the way, indicating your availability and leasing specials so they can move for a better deal!

 

If the first words out of your new prospect’s mouth are “I saw the sign”, consider yourself a success. (And current residents will appreciate the attractive signs you’ve placed around, making their home a more beautiful one.)

808 West, Capriana and ORA are ©Fairfield Residential  |  Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

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Color Palette: Branding Apartments

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design. 1 Comment on Color Palette: Branding Apartments

Besides the name and logo, there’s another part of your branding that ensures your community is instantly recognizable: your color palette. Certain combinations of colors instantly recall certain brands—while bold primary shades of yellow, red, and blue represent Google, bright red and white are equally synonymous with Coca-Cola. Choosing a distinct combination of colors is a must to help your community amp up your brand recognition and stand out from your competitors.

But all color palettes aren’t created equal. When choosing your colors, be sure to carefully consider a few different factors to land on the perfect hues.

Dos:

  • Consider color psychology
  • Explore your favorite brands’ palettes
  • Evaluate your brand’s personality 
  • Look for inspiration in unexpected places

Don’ts:

  • Copy other brands directly
  • Forget about your target audience
  • Just choose a single color
  • Skip testing your palette

Do:

Consider Color Psychology

People naturally associate certain colors with certain feelings or emotions. Red, for example, is often associated with anger or passion. Pink is typically considered a feminine color, while purple is a majestic and royal shade. When choosing your colors, be sure to consider the intrinsic meaning of each hue, and ensure it aligns with your greater brand messaging and objectives.

Don’t:

Copy Other Brands Directly

Having a unique color palette is integral to standing out. While you can seek inspiration from other brands, be sure to put your own unique twist on the shades. Change the saturation, swap out a few of the secondary colors, or use them in different ways to create a distinct visual identity for your brand. The more you can standout from your competitors, the better – so do your own thing with color too!

Do:

Explore Your Favorite Brands’ Palettes

If you’re looking for inspiration, look to your favorite brands and see what they have in common. Are you gravitating towards bright, bold color palettes? Or do you prefer more muted, neutral combos? Evaluating your top picks can help to reveal patterns and preferences you may not be conscious of, giving you a good starting point for creating your own.

Don’t:

Forget About Your Audience

Consider who you’re targeting when choosing your brand colors. If your audience is mostly Boomers, for example, you would maybe want to explore muted, neutral shades and cool tones. If your audience is Gen Z, on the other hand, you’d want to explore more playful, bold, and youthful shades. These small nuances can help your branding resonate better with your audience and make your community feel like a naturally better fit.

Do:

Evaluate Your Brand’s Personality

If your brand is sophisticated and elegant, you want to ensure you choose colors that match. Similarly, if your brand is more fun and playful, you’ll want to pick shades that represent those elements. No matter your brand personality, be sure to mimic your style and vibe with your primary and secondary colors. This will help give your audience context clues about your brand, so they better understand your style from the very beginning.

Don’t:

Just Choose a Single Color

Branding needs more than one color to shine. Choose at least two primary shades, in addition to a selection of neutrals, that you can mix and match to create different marketing collateral. This will help ensure you have dynamic and interesting assets, as opposed to ones that fall a little flat.

Do:

Find Inspiration in Unexpected Places

Colors are all around us, which can make it easier to find your favorite combos. You don’t just have to use photographs and other brand logos as a starting point. Think outside the box and look to natural landscapes, food, flowers, and even fashion trends as a starting point for the individual shades and color combinations you’re drawn to.

Don’t:

Skip Testing Your Palette

While your colors may look good in isolation, it’s important to test them in different places to make sure they make sense tother. Make a few different combinations and a few different cross-channel assets to make sure you like the way everything is working. You should also test the color contrast for accessibility to ensure any text is easy to read.

color palette

Putting it All Together

After gathering your inspiration and doing your due diligence, it’s time to put everything together. 

  1. Start by asking senior leadership which colors they love (and which they hate). This will help give you a good jumping-off point for your color palette.
  2. From there, choose your first must-have shade. This will serve as the primary color in your palette.
  3. Then, add a complementary color. If you’re not sure which color best complements your pick, look to the color wheel—the shade on the exact opposite side of the wheel is its natural complement. 
  4. Then, play around with the saturation. Choose both a light and dark version of your primary brand color. 
  5. Next, add one or two neutral colors like white, black, gray, or beige. This will help you achieve the dynamic palette you need to execute any type of asset. 
  6. Finally, add an accent color to add an eye-catching pop.

 

If you’re struggling to find a color palette that feels true to your brand, reach out to the experts. At zipcode creative, we handle every element of branding from logo and name development to brand guidelines and color palettes. We’ll partner with you and your team to create a brand identity that perfectly represents your community. Reach out today to get started!

Apartment Staging for Fall Marketing

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Fall is the perfect time to think through your apartment staging strategy. As the days get shorter and the smell of autumn lingers in the air, you’ll need to prepare your model suite for the other changes the season brings: adults moving into active adult housing, empty nesters downsizing, and college graduates finally landing a new job, looking for the perfect apartment.

There are countless advantages to staging a model apartment for your prospective residents. For one, it’s plain and simple (good) marketing—selling what life could look like for those considering living in your community. If you’re going through the process of apartment staging for fall, be sure to follow our tips. If you’re not, consider this small fact: an unstaged home often has visitors tour for 5 minutes. But a staged home, on average, has a visitor/prospective resident or buyer in the house for 40 minutes. Every one of those 35 minutes counts a little more towards getting your lease signed.

Apartment Staging for Fall, Helps Marketing

SHOW VALUE

Having a higher cost of rent when the home is staged doesn’t feel as exorbitant, when they see the way the apartment is laid out. It’s a helpful sales tip that works. The pricing then can reflect the effort you’re putting in. When you show off what you can do with one model unit, your future resident may assume that this level of effort may extend across all of your community (showing that you care about more than rent coming in on time).

FOCUS ON THE GOOD

According to apartmenttherapy.com, elevating the exact characteristics the prospective buyer (or in this case, renter) will fall in love with, can help in a number of ways. Just as staging can help homes sell faster, staging apartments helps them lease up faster. When your prospective residents can picture the place being home, they’ll want to move quickly to secure it. When you put in the effort and show the value, your prospects will be attracted to the little touches of luxury and home you’ve added in.

Apartment Staging for Fall, Best Practices

DISTRACT (A LITTLE)

Without anything in the room to look at, visitors have trouble visualizing exactly how the room should be laid out, or if the space is big enough for their favorite chair and side table. Instead of checking out the room and details, they’ll likely be looking everywhere you don’t want them to—including out the window. Keep their attention in the space and disguise any imperfections or areas that are less desirable with something beautiful, soft, or handy. Help it feel a little closer to home with some added touches of the autumn season:

  • Decorative gourds and pumpkins (real ones can last a few months if kept whole!)
  • Twig wreath
  • Light rain or leaf or moss-scented candle (nothing too heavily fragrant; avoid pumpkin scents—not everyone likes super sweet smells)
  • A stack of leather-bound books
  • A cozy throw pillow and/or blanket over the sofa, chair, or bed
  • Floor and table lamps, to give levels of light

THIS COULD BE YOU

When you put in all of the furniture and details, make it a little bit aspirational—have prospective residents saying, “Ooh, we could sit in this corner and read when it rains, and have a mug of tea on this table.” When you show use of the space, inspire your visitors to do the things they would love to do (and be the people they want to be) with interesting, beautiful art, sculptures, fresh flowers, and even some live plants, if possible!

KEEP IT SIMPLE

When decorating, don’t lean too heavily into a super strong style. Keep it a little generic, so that any visitor can imagine themselves living there. Keep it inviting. Keep it uncluttered. Keep it clean. Avoid anything that could invoke strong reactions.

GET OBVIOUS

Do you have beautiful new energy smart or app-controlled appliances? Place little call-out signs near them to show them off and give a little fact about them. Make sure to have your apartment colors and logo on it—it will look more official that way. (Contact us if you need a little branded sign or a booklet brochure. We have your back!)

LIGHT IT UP

Shed a little light on the best spaces in the model unit. Use mirrors to your advantage, helping the room look bigger and more well-lit (especially as the days get shorter towards winter). Place light-colored and/or sheer curtains around the windows, placed higher above the frame; the light curtains let in more sunshine, and the high placement gives the effect of larger windows.

WORK WITH THE ROOM

Not every community has the same style. Work within the bounds of the architectural style you have. Minimalist? Eclectic? Hacienda? Mod? Be careful to choose furniture that works with your apartment style (and don’t get too funky, even if it’s fun). Overwhelming the resident with style can repel them from seeing themselves in the space—the exact opposite of what you want.

KEEP AUDIENCE IN MIND

In keeping with the architectural style of your community, you’ll also want to carefully consider the audience you’re trying to reach. If you’re modeling a suite for an active adult community, find comfortable chairs, cozy spaces, places to play card games and drink tea, and maybe, (if you’re pet-friendly) a little staged doggy bed and doggy dishes in a corner. However, if you’re trying to reach a studious resident, be sure to carve out a space that looks perfect for reading and studying. They’ll be able to picture themselves perfectly in the unit.

Apartment Staging for Fall, Additional Benefits

Something not often discussed—there are even more benefits for staging beyond resident tours. You can also use the staged model unit for photo shoots. These photos can be placed on any of your marketing collateral, and if the staging is “lightly” seasonal, you can use some close-ups for your social media posts: instagram, facebook, and the like for any seasonal specials you have, or fun posts you want to do. Be sure to hire a professional photographer for the best shots. They’ll get all the angles you’ll need.

 

Ready, set, start your staging!

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Lifestyle Stock Photography for Your Apartment Brand

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words—and it’s true. An image quickly portrays a certain attitude, vibe, and emotion, all in just a glance. So when choosing lifestyle stock photography for your community’s marketing materials, it’s important to pick wisely. 

Prospective residents begin to associate what they see in imagery with what it must be like living in your community. Choosing photos that accurately represent your community’s lifestyle is vital to authentically depicting what it’s like for residents—while also portraying an aspirational lifestyle that quickly catches viewers’ attention. 

Use one of these tried-and-true approaches to find the right lifestyle stock photography for your community. 

People-Focused Lifestyle Stock Photography

Though it’s not a hard and fast rule, it’s not uncommon to see lifestyle stock photography that depicts smiling, happy, beautiful people. When curating photography for your community, it’s important to choose images that evoke an elevated, coveted lifestyle. 

From a family relaxing by the community pool while enjoying the sunshine to a fit young man hitting his goals in the fitness center, the right photography can help people imagine what their life would be like in your community—and including people is an important part of that. To take it a step further, specifically select photos that represent your target demographic. If your target market is families, active seniors, or young professionals, we can curate a selection of photos that feature people in a similar demographic so they can even more easily imagine themselves as a resident – all while keeping the entire gallery diverse to stay compliant with fair housing, of course!

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Real People & Real Residents in Photography

Instead of using generic lifestyle stock photography you can take it to the next level and use images of your real staff and residents. Though this is slightly more complex, it helps you stay totally true to your brand and your community. It also gives you the opportunity to hand-select each image that you want and capture the exact angle, area, or person that you’re looking for.

To start, find a photographer in your area whose work you love. You can then arrange for residents and staff to be on-site to capture your dream photos. Try including your graphic design team or bring on a third-party agency to ensure that the photos align with your branding and creative vision. Just be sure to collect photo releases from everyone involved, so you can freely use the images in all of your marketing collateral. 

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People-Free Lifestyle Stock Photography

You could choose to avoid people completely and still curate elevated and sophisticated lifestyle stock photography that perfectly represents your community. Select photos that leave details and people up to the imagination. Showing a coffee cup and a book on a table in the business center or a towel and sunglasses on a lounge chair by a pool, for example, hint at the amenities and lifestyle that your community offers—all without showing them directly.

This is an amazing option for communities that are undergoing renovations or have some planned in the future. It’s also a smart option for new developments that don’t yet have spaces to photograph. You can use these lifestyle stock photos in addition to renderings to portray your community’s best elements, all without limiting your target audience to a certain demographic.  

Whether you’re looking to orchestrate a full-scale photoshoot or simply need an expertly curated collection of lifestyle stock photography, having added expertise on your side goes a long way. At zipcode creative, we’ve created marketing materials for communities of all shapes and sizes. From developing websites from scratch to refining your branding to developing printed collateral like postcards or brochures, we can help you select the right photography to make your community jump off the page.

Get in touch with our team today to get started.