# Helping home owners sell or let their homes online

Source: https://jonleverrier.com/case-study/urban-co-uk-product-branding
Client: Urban.co.uk
Role: Competitor Analysis, Persona Development, Logo Design, Information Architecture, Wireframing, User Interface Design, Front-end, Craft CMS, UX Design, 0 to 1 Design
Year: 2016
Sectors: PropTech, E-commerce, Startup

Urban.co.uk offered homeowners a better way to sell or let a property, charging less and delivering more than a high street agent. By 2016 it had been doing that online for over a decade, and the rest of the market had caught up. Urban asked me to rebrand the business before it went to investors.

## At a glance

- A brand that gave Urban something premium to take to investors
- The business secured investment
- The founders went on to exit, twice

## The problem

- **Ahead of the curve.** Urban had been selling and letting homes online for over a decade, back when most people assumed you needed a high street shop window to sell a house.
- **Followed by the crowd.** By 2016, new online agents were springing up to copy the model, each promising to charge less than the high street.
- **Too many hands.** The website had passed through a succession of designers and agencies, growing a bit at a time. It wasn't built on a solid design foundation, so it couldn't scale quickly enough.
- **Under scrutiny.** Pre-seed investment was coming, and investors would look closely. The EU referendum had the country holding its breath, and the property market with it.

Urban needed a brand that would stand up to that scrutiny and give the business something solid to grow on.

## The solution

### 1. Standing apart

Being early only counts if people can tell you from everyone who followed. The brand had to feel confident and modern, more tech startup than estate agent.

### 2. Bold on purpose

Estate agency branding plays it safe, so I went the other way. I chose bold colours and Omnes, a friendly rounded typeface that works as well on a website as on a For Sale board.

### 3. A device that stands on its own

The logo device works without the wordmark beside it.

### 4. An illustration style instead of stock photos

The illustrations explain a confusing process without a stock photo of a handshake in sight.

## Outcomes

The new brand gave Urban something premium to take to investors, and it started a long working relationship.

The business secured investment, which eventually led the founders to an exit. Twice, in fact: first through a merger with [Emoov](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/emoov) and [Tepilo](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/tepilo) in 2018, then, after buying the business back, through a sale to [Howsy](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/no-agent) in 2019.

> Jon was passionate about doing good work and delivering a superior product. He challenged our thinking and got us think about different options/ideas. We have never had this from anyone we have worked with before. Very pleased with the outcome and Jon goes way beyond expectations.
>
> — Oliver Atkinson, CEO, Urban.co.uk