Brand Handbook IDENTIFYING THE LOOK AND FEEL OF LUSTER CUSTOM HOMES & REMODELING
AUGUST 2017 | VERSION 7
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
How can you use this brand handbook? This document is a foundation that is meant to be used to build the Luster Homes brand. Anybody who writes, designs, or communicates about Luster Homes will be able to use this document to provide a consistent experience. It should be used to help those involved with the brand both internally, and externally understand and work with you more effectively. Writers, designers, and employees should all read, and reference this book for guidance. This document is not the end of the evolution of your brand, but rather is a living document that reflects who your are in the current, and near-future state.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Table of contents
4. Brand roots overview
4. Purpose and Vision
5. Reason to Believe
6. Values
7. Style Keywords
8. Brand inspiration archetypes 9. The Sensualist
10. The Maverick
11. Audience empathy map
11. Homeowners
12. Vendors & Designers
13. Real Estate Agents
14. Verbal key experience elements
14. Verbal Principles
15. Writing Guidelines
19. Sample Vocabulary
20. Sample Phrases & Headlines
21. Company Tagline
22. Customer pitch
23. Visual key experience elements
23. Design principles
24. Color palette
25. Typefaces
27. Logo guidelines
30. Graphic elements
31. Visual examples 3
Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Brand Roots Overview Purpose Your purpose is a clear description of why you’re in business. It summarizes the difference you’re trying to make in the world and what drives you every day.
We believe everything about luxury homes should feel like something to look forward to. Because of this we take time to really listen, craft a clear vision, and invite people to be part of the process so that the whole experience feels upfront, open, and enjoyable.
Vision Your vision describes what the future will look like once your goals are achieved. It’s important for your team and ours to have a clear understanding of your vision so everyone is working towards a common goal.
Our vision is to be an award-winning, industry leader known for changing the standards of the home-building and remodeling experience with our open and upfront process.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Reason to Believe Your reason to believe is made up of the core differentiators that define who your company is, why it matters, and why your colleagues, employees, and customers should care.
People-centered, pleasant experience Open, upfront, and inclusive process Quality you can feel from afar
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Values Your values are the attitudes and beliefs at the core of your company. They embody what’s important to your business, and they should be reflected in all of your decisions and actions.
Connection We value the people and personalities that bring every home to life. Perseverance We never give up - there’s always a solution to every problem. Happiness We make room for laughter, lightheartedness, and delight. Proactivity We’re thinking of ways to solve a problem before you notice there is one. Drive We’re passionate about our work and hungry to do our best.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Style Keywords These traits represent your core characteristics and style of doing business. They’ll be used as a source of inspiration and guidance for future branding, site design, marketing, and more.
Refined luxurious, elegant, timeless Innovative progressive, cutting-edge, technical Cheeky witty, upbeat, and fun-loving Bold dynamic, striking, daring Relationship-Oriented straightforward, uncomplicated, down-to-earth
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Brand Inspiration Archetypes Your brand concept serves as an internal inspiration and anchor for the brand that subconsciously reinforces the company’s core purpose and values to potential customers. We will merge and refine these metaphors into a related concept that accurately evokes major elements of your brand, and can be used as the foundation for your verbal and visual strategy.
We’re inspired by
THE SENSUALIST
THE MAVERICK
Creating enjoyment through physical experiences
Achieving goals by defying convention
Please note: the images on the following pages are not suggestions for actual images to be used with the brand identity, but rather represent the spirit of the archetype described. The Visual Strategy will serve to merge and refine these metaphors, and provide the recommended colors, imagery, and graphic elements that best align with your brand, business goals, and audience needs.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
How We’re Inspired by The Sensualist The Sensualist symbolizes people who help others pursue perfect enjoyment through experiences that the physical senses. Everything they create has the power to captivate hearts and inspire delight. The Sensualist carefully considers details that comprise the larger experience. They are concerned about the entire experience and how your customers will feel in addition to how they think. The Sensualist relates your Bold and Refined style, and supports your purpose that a luxury home should feel like a dream come true. Luster Homes is a Sensualist because you understand in order to become an industry leader, the experience you create for your customers and colleagues must be inspiring and masterfully designed to focus attention to detail and heighten the senses.
How We’re Inspired by The Sensualist yy A dynamic verbal style that communicates passion and inspiring elegance. yy Bold language and a descriptive verbal style that paints a vibrant, alluring picture and makes people feel something. yy Lively photography that demonstrates enjoyment, warmth, and attention to detail. yy A bold, but refined typeface for headlines paired with a modern, easy-to-read body typeface. yy Rich color selections and a strong contrast of light and dark colors to convey innovation and confidence. yy Sparing use of intricate patterns and textures that provide sophisticated polish and attention to detail.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
How We’re Inspired by The Maverick The Maverick symbolizes people who aren’t afraid to defy what’s expected and be unconventional in their approach. They don’t take things at face value or do what everyone else is doing. Mavericks question everything. They prefer revolutionary ideas and boldness over safe choices and the status quo. The Maverick relates to your the fact that you execute your Perseverance through Drive and Happiness. Luster Homes is a Maverick because you’re aren’t afraid to do what other home developers won’t. Many of your competitors may feel impersonal while Luster Homes takes the time to communicate extensively with their audience, embrace and incorporate the unique personalities of their customers, and create lively and fun-loving experiences.
How We’re Inspired by The Maverick yy A lively and adventurous verbal style that points out what makes Luster Homes different from other home developers. yy Personable and straightforward language that is warm and energetic. yy Easy-to-understand explanations on how the Luster Homes process works and how it helps your customers achieve their dream home. yy A contrast of neutral tones with a pop of color, geometric patterns, unconventional photography, and bold typography. yy Images and graphics that stir emotion, trust, and collaboration. yy Typography and imagery that is crisp and modern.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Audience Empathy Mapping Your audience profiles help your to design experiences that are right for each audience segment and their context.
Feeling
Thinking
yy Excited
yy I hope they understand my vision
yy Nervous
yy Are these people trustworthy? Will they try to cut corners?
yy Hesitant
yy How do they manage their staff? I don’t want to babysit people.
yy Worried about hidden costs yy Skeptical of work quality and expertise
yy I’m excited to see how this all comes together!
yy Particular, has expectations that need to be met yy Curious about status of the timeline yy Overwhelmed at times
yy I didn’t realize there were so many selections and choices to make. This could get overwhelming!
HOMEOWNERS
yy What is their process like? What happens next?
Doing yy Multi-tasking
yy Looking for inspiration online
yy Using phone or tablet to get information
yy Comparing projects and galleries between homebuilders (shopping around)
yy Working with designers to make selections for the house
yy Asking friends for referrals
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Feeling
Thinking
yy Stressed
yy Can you provide the value I need?
yy Anxious about timelines
yy Do these people know what they’re doing?
yy Overwhelmed by workload
yy Are there other opportunities for me to grow my business with these people?
yy Worried about making mistakes yy Excited to explore new possibilities the project could bring
yy I need an update on the schedule
yy Hopeful a project could finish ahead of time
yy What are your payment terms?
VENDORS & DESIGNERS
yy I hope this isn’t a mistake that costs me money. yy I’d love to finish this project ahead of time! yy Will this partnership allow me to shine?
Doing yy Multi-tasking
yy Enjoying flexible work hours
yy Using phone or tablet to get information
yy Meeting with clients in person to discuss projects and opportunities
yy Working average hour workdays (8-10) yy Balancing family life and kids
yy Sourcing materials in-person around town
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Feeling
Thinking
yy Excited about commision and referrals
yy How can I find the right fit for my client and help them see the possibility here?
yy Anxious to help clients find the right fit and see the possibility in a home
yy How much commision can I make here? What’s the opportunity.
yy Worried about contracts working out as planned
yy I’m worried about a remodel, what if contracts don’t pan out. yy How will this impact my reputation?
REAL ESTATE AGENTS
yy Will this partnership allow me to shine?
Doing yy Multi-tasking
yy Meeting with clients in-person
yy Using phone or tablet to get information
yy Doing paperwork and more time intensive things in an office
yy Showing homes
yy Marketing and looking for new leads
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Verbal key experience elements Verbal Principles The way we write about Luster Homes has a great impact on how we are perceived by our customers. It’s important that we maintain a consistent voice and tone so people always understand who we are and what we are all about. What does Luster Homes sound like? Our voice has different characteristics that make up its overall tone and personality. Understanding how these characteristics come to life will help us consistently drive home the qualities of our brand that are most important.
Empathy First While our voice and tone creates consistency, you should always frame your message for your specific audience. To do this, you need to think about your audience before you write anything at all. Are you talking to an designer or a homeowner? What do they really care about? It’s helpful to put ourselves in their shoes before writing a single sentence, so we can tailor our tone to their needs and emotions.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Verbal key experience elements Writing Guidelines Our voice is human. It’s bold, friendly, a little playful, and a lot straightforward. Our priority is explaining our services so our audience can have confidence in our people and our process so they can get busy building the home of their dreams. We want to educate people without over-promising or or being too vague. One way to think of our voice is to compare what it is to what it isn’t. Luster’s voice is:
Refined but not pretentious Innovative but not intellectual Cheeky but not sarcastic Bold but not cocky Relationship-oriented but not too informal
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Writing Samples
Refined LIKE THIS Good design makes us swoon. It elevates the experience of life. It’s at the core of everything we do. That’s why we work hard to bring your vision to life with beautiful, well-designed spaces that shine with personality, reflect quality and craftsmanship in everything, and bring you joy for years to come. NOT LIKE THIS Luster Homes is proud to offer the pinnacle of design excellence. Our award-winning firm specializes in luxury residential remodeling and custom home building. We are passionate about creating exceptional living environments that enhance our customers’ lifestyles. COMMUNICATE yy Paint a vivid picture and evoke a feeling of luxury, style, and timeless beauty yy The quality and craftsmanship that people can expect from a Luster design and build yy Avoid sounding pretentious and stuffy by staying away from typical luxury language like superior, excellence, unparalleled, and the like yy Keep the focus on the customer: their dreams, their experience, their joy. Stay away from putting the focus on ourselves with ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’” and ‘‘our’’ when possible.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Writing Samples
Innovative LIKE THIS Homebuilding shouldn’t leave you buried in a pile of confusing paperwork and stress. So we didn’t pull any punches when designing a modern, interactive, easy to understand customer experience. Breathe easy knowing your home is being built with the latest technology and that you’ll have a dedicated project manager keeping you in the loop. You’ll feel up-to-date on progress no matter where you are. NOT LIKE THIS Homebuilding should never feel like an overcomplicated and confusing ordeal. This is precisely why we’ve orchestrated a fully digital and online workflow. You can expect a modern experience featuring the ability to e-sign documents, and to receive weekly reports delivered by email from your personal project manager. Each report comes attached with photos of the build or remodel process that allow you to stay up-to-date on progress remotely. COMMUNICATE yy Cutting-edge, technology-focused process, that keeps people informed and makes their life easier yy How your approach sets you apart from the rest yy Why your process helps avoid change orders, and the benefits of having a project manager on-site everyday so everything stays on schedule
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Writing Samples
Cheeky LIKE THIS Mother-in-laws, trips to the dentist, discovering you’re clean out of coffee on a Monday morning -- that’s the real scary stuff. For a lot of folks, building a new home would be right at the top of that list. We’re not out to make you into someone else or complicate your vision. We just want to help you bring to life the home of your dreams. NOT LIKE THIS Why would anyone think homebuilding and remodeling are something to be scared of? It’s not like things ever go wrong. Homebuilders can’t be trusted you say? Tell us something we don’t know. Luster isn’t like that. Our award-winning staff works hard to deliver the experience our client’s want and need. We’re not here to complicate your vision. We’re here to help you COMMUNICATE yy You’re a fun company to work with, give them a taste of your humanity and personality yy The elegant and sophisticated nature of the experience in an approachable voice yy Quality and attention to detail is infused in every aspect of the experience
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Writing Samples
Bold LIKE THIS Introducing a whole new approach to bringing you custom, luxury living. Whether you’re looking to design and build from the ground up, or remodel the home you have, we think you’ll appreciate our open and inclusive approach to homebuilding. We’re in this together. NOT LIKE THIS Luster Homes is revolutionizing the industry and introducing a whole new approach to bringing you custom, luxury living. Whether you’re looking to design and build from the ground up, or remodel the home you have, our one-of-a-kind open and inclusive approach to homebuilding will blow you away. COMMUNICATE yy You’re a different kind of homebuilder, with a different style of doing business yy Your passion and vision for changing people’s expectations in the homebuilding industry yy Keep the focus on the benefits to the customer and avoid talking about Luster Homes directly as that feels like bragging yy Your collaborative approach to everything
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Writing Samples
Relationship-Oriented LIKE THIS At Luster, we like people, small talk, answering questions, obsessing over the details, and making a custom home build or remodel an enjoyable experience. Because we like it when people are open and upfront, and thought you just might, too. NOT LIKE THIS Hey guys, it’s true. We dig people, small talk, answering questions, obsessing over the details, and making a custom home build or remodel an enjoyable experience. We think it’s badass when people are open and upfront, and we thought -- well hell, you just might, too. COMMUNICATE yy Your communication is straightforward and your process is uncomplicated yy It’s not just about ideas, it’s about turning ideas into action yy How customers walk away with relevant insights and fresh perspective yy Keeping the focus on how much we value long-term relationships
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Sample Vocabulary yy
Action
yy Luxury
yy Award-winning
yy Open
yy Communicate
yy Refreshing
yy Community
yy Neighborhood
yy Collaborative
yy Play
yy Custom
yy Small talk
yy Different
yy Smart
yy Dream
yy Together
yy Design
yy Teamwork
yy Enjoyable
yy Trusted
yy Exciting
yy Unscary
yy Family
yy Upfront
yy Folks
yy Uncomplicated
yy Fun loving
yy Vision
yy Fresh
yy You’re the focus
yy Open
yy Sustainable
yy Go ahead
yy Swoon
yy Happy
yy Upfront
yy Honest
yy Uncomplicated
yy Ideas
yy Vision
yy Love
yy You’re the focus
yy Life
yy Sustainable
yy Live
yy Swoon
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Sample Headlines & Phrases We play well with others. Open, upfront, all the way. VARIATIONS
On budget. On time. On vision. That’s homebuilding in harmony. On budget. On time. On vision. That’s remodeling in harmony. On budget. On time. On vision. That’s homebuilding and remodeling in harmony. Homebuilders who won’t complicate your vision. (You can say that again.) Contractors who won’t blow the budget. (But they might just blow your mind.)
VARIATIONS
Welcome home. Oops. We broke all the rules. Building the custom home of your dreams just got a little less scary and a lot more fun. Oops. We broke all the rules. Remodeling the home of your dreams just got a little less scary and a lot more fun.
VARIATIONS
VARIATIONS
Remodeling and custom home building done right. Custom home building done right. Remodeling done right. We build homes. We also make dreams come true. We remodel homes. We also make dreams come true. We build and remodel homes. We also make dreams come true. We have two goals. Bring your dream home to life. Make sure you enjoy the ride. Our promise. You’re the focus and giving you a good experience is our goal. An approach like no other. We’re kind of obsessed with experience.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Company Tagline
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Company Elevator Pitch
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Visual Strategy Design Principles When making design choices for the Luster Custom Homes brand, these are the overall guidelines and principles to keep in mind
Colors and images should be warm with energy and personable. Photography and design should be open and bright. Graphic elements should be elegant and rich, while not being overly orante and complex. Photography should be authentic and trustworthy. Imagery and design elements should be focused on information delivery. Design elements should feel more modern over traditional.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Color Palette
Luxurious, Energized, & Friendly
Main palette Used as main colors for backgrounds and design elements.
LUSTER BLUE
SAND
LIGHT GREY
WHITE
#51748b
#d8cebc
#f4f4f4
#ffffff
C73 M47 Y33 K7
C15 M15 Y25 K0
C3 M2 Y2 K0
C0 M07 Y0 K0
Secondary palette Used sparingly as accents or highlighted elements and text.
ORANGE
KHAKI
SLATE BLUE
DARK GREY
#f26b21
#c8c190
#3c5363
#4d5053
C0 M72 Y100 K0
C23 M18 Y49 K0
C80 M60 Y45 K25
C10 M5 Y5 K80
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Typefaces
Refined, Bold, & Simple
Primary Typeface DROID SERIF Droid Serif font family features a contemporary appearance and was designed for comfortable reading on screen. It features slightly condensed letterforms to maximize the amount of text displayed on small screens. Droid Serif operates under a free, open license and can be used and distributed freely witih no restrictions.
ABCDEFGH I J K L M NO P Q R ST U V W X Y Z ab c d e f g hi jk lm no p q r s t u vwx y z 1234567890 ! @ #$%^ & * ( ) ABCDEFG H I J K L M N OP Q R STUVW X Y Z abcdef gh ijklm n o pq r s tu v wx yz 1234567890 !@ #$% ^ & * ( ) ABCDEF GH I J K L MNOPQ R ST U V W X Y Z abcde fghij k lm no p qrs tu vwx yz 1234567890 ! @ #$%^ & * ( )
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Typefaces
Refined, Bold, & Simple
Secondary Typeface OPEN SANS Open Sans was designed with an upright stress, open forms and a neutral, yet friendly appearance. It was optimized for print, web, and mobile interfaces, and has excellent legibility characteristics in its letterforms. Open sans. operates under a free, open license and can be
used and distributed freely witih no restrictions.
ABCDEFGH I JK L M NO P Q RS T U V W XY Z ab cd efg h i jk lmn o p q r s t uv wx y z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 !@ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ABC D EFGHI J K L M NO P Q R S TU V W XY Z abc de f g h ijk lm n o pq rs t uv wx yz 1234567 8 9 0 ! @#$ % ^ & * ( ) A B CDE F GHI JKLMN OP Q R S T U V W X Y Z abc de fg h ij k l m n op q rst uv w x y z 1 2 34 56 7890 !@# $% ^& * ( )
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Typefaces
Pairing Examples
Primary headlines set in Droid Serif. SUBHEADS SET IN OPEN SANS. Long sections of text, such as brochure copy and websites, are primarily set in Droid Serif. Consider these guidelines and not rules. If the piece really wants to be set in the serif typeface, don’t fight it! The ultimate goal is to make the experience good for the reader while maintaining brand standards. Both typefaces are perfectly suitable choices.
FOR CONTRAST, USING DROID SERIF BOLD Open Sans is good for sidebar headings. SMALLER OR REVERSE TEXT SUCH AS ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS CAN BE SET IN OPEN SANS.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Logo Guidelines Variations
Blue logo on light backgrounds
When space allows, used the boxed version of the logo.
If space is limited, the logo may be used without the border.
X
X
The blue logo should be used only on white or light-colored backgrounds. Avoid using the blue logo on darker backgrounds, patterns, or images.
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Logo Guidelines Variations
Reverse logo on blue background
Whenever possible, the reverse logo should appear the Luster Blue background. The reverse logo should appear without the additional border.
If the Luster Blue background is not an option, the reverse logo may be paired with other background colors or images. If the logo appears on the image, the details of the image should not obstruct the reverse logo.
X
Background too light for reverse logo
X
Image too busy for logo
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Logo Guidelines Avatars
Large social media icons
Medium social media icons
Medium social media icons
Website Favicon
Shown actual size
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Graphic Elements
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Luster Custom Homes & Remodeling Brand Handbook
Visual Examples Putting it all together
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