Kentwood Real Estate

A Trusted Brand Reborn

After nearly four decades in business, Kentwood knew it was time to update their identity. As one of the most recognizable real estate agencies in Colorado, they wanted to update and modernize without having their consumers relearn the brand. Building upon their well-established equity to usher in the new era for the Kentwood.

After almost three years of planning internally, Kentwood approached Mast to help achieve their vision of a modernized version of their identity. We worked closely with their internal team to update the iconic brand. Resulting in a modern refresh that pays homage to their decades in Colorado.

“We’ve turned the corner into the first decades of the 21st Century and we believe it’s time to retell our story. Only we control our story, and only we can shine a light on how proud we are to be here. Without the support of our clients and their belief in what we have to offer, we would not be the brand we are today.” – Gretchen Rosenberg, Kentwood CEO

“Our history is important but needs to be modernized.”

After decades, the Kentwood brand needed to be updated. While preserving the essence of the brand. The previous brand possessed legibility and usability issues, resulting from the combined letterforms and inclusion of the symbol within the wordmark.

Building on the equity already established, we kept the same form of the tree but re-drew and updated the mark for better overall usability and scalability. It can now stand on its own and be used easily on social media. By balancing the positive and negative space, we designed a mark that works exceptionally well at small sizes, but we were also able to create an “ah-ha” moment within the mark. The trunk of the tree doubles as a door, creating the image of a home. Strengthening the message of “putting down roots” and allowing growth to stem from the home.

Already widely regarded within the organization and the community at large, the evergreen tree has strong equity and ties to the Kentwood name. It has geographical connotations but it also provides a message of stability and longevity.

“Our tree is the symbol of our roots in Colorado. Of our commitment to the building blocks of home and the strength of community. It represents the foundation of life, landscape, and an evergreen mentality. Trees breathe life into this world and remind us to slow down and take the long view.”

The evergreen also inspired the update to the color palette. Previously the palette heavily leveraged forest green and gold. The internal team felt this palette no longer aligned with the mission of Kentwood. It was imperative to modernize and expand the palette. Using the forest green as a base, we introduced a light energetic green and blue into the palette. Creating a modern palette rooted in the landscape.

We developed a wide range of patterns to be utilized throughout the physical and digital buildout of the brand. The arrow from the symbol and wordmark was a natural choice as a base for the pattern — by developing a varied set of patterns, they can be used as directional markers or simply as stylistic elements, reminiscent of rooflines.

The arrows work to reemphasize the symbol while strengthening its presence within the identity.

The yard sign is one of the most visible extensions for any real estate company, this is especially true for Kentwood. It was essential to develop an update to the signs that could easily be seen from blocks away, creating intrigue and serving as a beacon to customers headed to the property.

We developed a modular system that would allow for increased visibility while building equity for the updated palette.

The yard sign set the visual tone for Kentwood’s modular brand system. This was expanded and resulted in a flexible system that allows for seamless inclusion of photos, patterns, and text. Establishing a robust, adaptable system that would set up the internal team for success for the long term.

Deliverable Art Direction

Sector Real Estate

Year Nov 2018

Next Project
The Ramble Hotel