Brand Guidelines
Market positioning & Brand identifiers
Market positioning
• Traditional
• Well established
• Targeting mid-market properties
• People focussed
• Knowledgeable experts
• Local
• Professional and friendly
• Providing value for money
• Approachable
• Easy to work with
• Warm
• Knowledgeable
• Open Brand Identifiers
The Logo
The logo is the cornerstone of our identity and must be used on all communication material.
Where possible the full colour version of the logo should be used. Mono and Greyscale versions of the logo are available. These can be used if the colour version is not appropriate or special print finishes are required.
Full colour
Mono
Grayscale
Logo Variations
The Intercounty logo is normally boxed.
Exceptions include:
• The logo appears on a dark grey background
• Social Media profile image (see below)
On photo
On solid colour background
On dark photo
On solid grey background
Social Media
Keeping the logo consistent
It is important that all our collateral has a clean and crisp look. It is always a good practice to leave an area of ‘breathing space’ around the logo to ensure that the brand is clearly visible in the surrounding design or text areas.
Isolation Area
The Isolation Area is the space around the logo in which no other text, graphic or photographic elements may encroach. The size of the isolation area is the height of the lower case “r”.
Placement
Generally the logo is placed in the corners of a page (on the top left, top right, bottom left or bottom right). Depending what material/media it is to be used in.
NOT use subtext such as “Estate & Letting Agents”
Intercounty
Secondary logo device
In lieu of a strapline, the brand includes a secondary logo device which relates to the evergreen “Matching” campaign, with the statement “Property matchmakers since 1991.” in a brand turquoise roundel. The imprefect style gives the device the suggestion of an official stamp.
Placement
The device can be used freely on branded items, but works well when spanning an image and a coloured block area, or across two block areas of different colours.
The Intercounty URL
Typography
The brand typeface is Afacad. This has been chosen because it is clean, legible and classic.
Typography and a consistent use of typeface is a key element in creating a cohesive look across all the Intercounty identity.
It is important that only Afacad font is used. Afacad is a Google font, free to download from fonts.google.com/specimen/Afacad
• Use a combination of upper and lower case. There is no need to use type all in uppercase
• Always make sure all type is legible
• Ensure a consistent typographic style throughout
Transactional materials
Arial should be used for transactional items such as standard forms and letters created in-branch, where staff generating the items do not have access to Afacad.
Arial should also used for email signatures to avoid issues with typeface rendering on the recipient’s computer.
Afacad Regular
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Regular Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Medium
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Medium Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Semoi-bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Semi-bold Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad Bold Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890 // !@#$%^&*()
Afacad
Primary Colours
Colour Palette
Colour is an essential part of our brand and marketing collateral.
There are primary colours, plus secondary colours to provide designers with a broader working palette. Try to refrain from using too many colours on the same piece of work.
Secondary Colours
CMYK: 100% 0% 23% 25%
RBG: R:57 G:178 B:203 #39b2cb
CMYK: 55% 74% 41% 16%
RBG: R:96 G:56 B:126 #60387e
CMYK: 0% 0% 0% 30%
RBG: R:198 G:198 B:198 #c6c6c6
CMYK: 8% 16% 31% 0%
RBG: R:233 G:210 B:177 #e9d2b1
CMYK: 7% 21% 100% 0%
RBG: R:237 G:201 B:0 #edc900
CMYK: 57% 23% 36% 5%
RBG: R:132 G:159 B:158 #849f9e
CMYK: 24% 100% 100% 0%
RBG: R:194 G:0 B:0 #c20000
CMYK: 7% 57% 100% 0%
RBG: R:237 G:110 B:0 #ed6e00
Lime
CMYK: 22% 0% 100% 8%
RBG: R:193 G:203 B:35 #c1cb23
Pantone 390
CMYK: 11% 0% 0% 92%
RBG: R:64 G:64 B:66 #404042
Pantone 7547 White
RBG: R:255 G:255 B:255 #FFFFFF Black
CMYK: 0% 0% 0% 0%
CMYK: 0% 0% 0% 100%
RBG: R:0 G:0 B:0 #000000
Framing grey area & green image overlay
The layout of text, images and graphics can be enhanced using a grey area to frame different elements such as the logo.
This aspect of the brand visual identity is am evolution of the green and grey slope device used previously, updated to give a range of alternatives for difference situations.
Where an image is placed alongside a solid area of grey or green, a narrow green strip can be placed over the image, with transparency of 20-40% to suit the image.
These graphical devices are not mutually exclusive and can be combined where it suits the individual design.
Imagery
In its core evergreen materials and content
Intercounty uses photography of People, Property and Interiors.
The chosen photography should be engaging and aspirational. Avoid the obvious and clichéd. Colours within the images should reflect Intercounty’s primary and secondary brand palettes, helping other elements of the design also using those colours to stand out.
Cropping a photograph well can have a dramatic effect on its impact drawing the viewers eye and excluding visual clutter.
People
People should be depicted in natural situations, enjoying life in and around their home, not posed looking at the camera.
Intercounty takes pride in portraying diversity and inclusivity with a preference for using images of people together and in social situations, rather than depicted on their own.
