Claypenny
Claypenny Properties is a letting and management agent for student properties in Sheffield (which has one of the largest student populations in the UK). As a family-owned and run business with over 25 years of experience, it has built an excellent reputation for providing high-quality and affordable housing with an emphasis on outstanding customer service.
The Challenge
As an accommodation provider to students predominately aged under 21, the Claypenny brand had become dated and along with all of its competitors, had a very corporate brand image and website design which was in danger of becoming unappealing to this demographic. Our proposal was to give the brand a complete refresh, to be more disruptive and to reposition Claypenny as a modern, relevant and high-quality private letting agency that is very much in-tune with youth/student culture and the needs of its tenants. Simultaneously, retaining the key elements of brand collateral such as their existing colour palette without appearing to be too formal.
The Solution
Part One
Our main consideration was that students first interaction with Claypenny was through the website, predominantly via mobile devices. We had to ensure that the visual language had to be memorable, relevant and resonate with them. Whilst at the same time providing a smooth user experience, with the agility to work across multiple screen formats and translate to printed materials.
Starting out with the design of a strikingly simple graphic ‘C’-shaped logo and working right through the brand colourways, tone of voice, online and offline collateral, we reimagined Claypenny as a thoroughly professional modern lettings agency in-tune with youth/student culture and with a finger on the pulse of Sheffield itself.
THE SOLUTION
Part Two
For the website we bolstered user confidence in Claypenny's award-winning customer service, with integration of online reviews and multiple opportunities to get in touch with the dedicated team. We also knew that usability, accessibility and performance were paramount in ensuring a successful launch for both users of the site and managers of the content. So we built a bespoke platform on an optimised and modern web stack that fits their needs perfectly.
For further brand engagement a smoothly animated version of the Claypenny logo appears upon entering the website. This was specifically created as a bespoke SVG (scalable vector graphic) animation so as not to sacrifice performance or user experience.
All this was achieved without compromising the brand’s ethos of providing a very personal customer-focused level of service that separates them from the more corporate and impersonal lettings agencies on the student market.
