Editors’ Note

In 1973, Diane Ramirez began her real estate career and she has worked for Halstead since founding the firm with Clark Halstead in 1984.

Firm Brief

Halstead (halstead.com) is one of the largest and most innovative residential real estate brokerage firms in the New York metropolitan area. The firm has 1,400 sales and rental agents throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, the Hamptons, Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. In 2001, Halstead joined the distinguished family of real estate-related companies owned by Terra Holdings.

Halstead recently re-branded. What inspired this effort?

In Spring 2018, Halstead underwent a major brand transformation. We shed our longtime green color and “H” icon, distinguished by its two pillars and window features, and unveiled a new visual identity that allows us to stand out with the public and real estate agents alike.

The look is bold, contemporary and memorable. It speaks to Halstead’s most powerful brand attributes while staying true to our core values and strengths. We worked with Pentagram, the world’s largest independently owned design studio, to develop the reimagined brand.

Halstead is at a pivotal moment, and our rebranding not only reflects where we are today but where we are heading. Over the years, we evolved from a boutique New York City firm to a force operating in urban, suburban and second home markets across New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. We have built an internal foundation of incredible technology, marketing services and support companies without forgetting our mission as a real estate company based on relationships and skill. We knew it was time to turn this outward.

How does the process for such a massive undertaking begin?

We started by conducting a thorough analysis of our brand across all our markets and interviewing Halstead executives, agents and influencers within the real estate industry. We listened, calibrated, revised and refined. The final result reflects the essence of Halstead and is strong and flexible to withstand the test of time.

What changed about your look?

Just about everything. Halstead’s new visual identity and brand system has been entirely reimagined – from the core logomark to the use of color, texture, typography, photography and more.

In so many ways,
we are “Agents of Change” for our
buyers, sellers, renters and landlords.

Your new H icon is three-dimensional. Why did you choose to take this route versus a traditional 2-dimensional logo?

The work of Halstead agents represents far more than a simple transaction – agents are the trusted advisors, interpreters of the market and much more to their clients. Like Halstead’s agents, our new logo is multidimensional and flexible, personifying our firm at its essence. The “H” icon is architectural, offering the ability to stand alone as well as the flexibility for rotation, growth in pattern form or in overlaying photography.

Where the logo mark builds the perspective, the wordmark constructs the historical foundation with a twist that is complementary and refined. Together, they create balance and positivity.

What was the inspiration behind your new colors?

Our approach to use of color in the re-brand is forward-thinking within the real estate industry and beyond. The corporate color set consists of a monochromatic palette of grays that anchors the brand, while three additional color sets reflect Halstead’s various markets throughout the tri-state region. Each of our firm’s major markets – Manhattan, the outer boroughs and the suburban areas – has its own distinct character and qualities. The market-specific color sets, when used as an accent to the corporate grays, allow unique market characteristics to shine while maintaining a strong connection to the core Halstead brand.

Did you update your corporate messaging as well?

Yes, much like our updated look, Halstead’s new messaging communicates through verbal and written language what the company is all about. Our core slogan, tone of voice, internal messaging, and external campaigns have all been updated.

Halstead’s new tagline is “Move to what moves you.” Halstead agents play a critical role in helping their clients make some of the most exciting and challenging changes in their lives, and the messaging is meant to convey elements of aspiration and passion with a flexibility that allows for wordplay in a variety of written forms.

To develop the new tagline, we looked inward. We asked ourselves, “who are we as a firm?” and “who do we want to be?” Our work with customers represents so much more than just a transaction. In so many ways, we are “Agents of Change” for our buyers, sellers, renters and landlords; this has become the brand philosophy that drives our work. We make significant changes and transitions in clients’ lives much easier. Every day, our agents are moving people to places that move them.

What kind of corporate investment was behind the re-brand?

We dedicated an enormous amount of time and financial resources toward making the brand launch and subsequent adoption a success. There is so much that went into the follow-up after we introduced the new brand – from office signage for 30+ locations and advertising campaigns to updating every external and internal corporate document for a company of 1,400 agents. It was a huge undertaking that required an amazing team effort and months of strategic planning and execution. We are so proud of the results.