great to see you. Because this means you are going to engage with one of our absolute favorite topics: our precious and growing Urbyo brand. No matter who you are and when you join the ride — staff, partner, (future) client — this brand book will help you to understand who Urbyo is, what our brand stands for, and what it can do for you.
Let’s roll.
Mission
We believe it’s about time we change how people look at real estate. Both from an investment and an overall standpoint. Because owning property has been a topic reserved for a select few for way too long. It's our firm belief that owning real estate should be a most valuable part of everyone’s strategy for sustainable financial wealth. To us, owning real estate is an essential key to a high quality of life. It contributes significantly to security, independence, and a sense of belonging. And that's why everyone should have access to it.
We are here to democratize real estate.
Approach
Urbyo serves as an empowering connector, bridging actual and perceived barriers by reducing cost, friction, uncertainty, time and complexity. We make it as simple and instant as possible to own and sell real estate. Our goal is empowering as many people as possible to find their own sustainable connection to real estate. We believe that only a smooth and fast market can deliver on that promise. That is why we step up to the challenge of improving accessibility to the market.
We enable owning and selling of real estate for everyone — by bridging barriers, removing friction, and raising the standards.
Way
We improve the entire journey of real estate ownership from finding a property to (re)selling it. We curate and pre-select, deliver insight and analytics, help with selection and purchase, end to end. All alongside a strong community of buyers and sellers to set a new benchmark for the industry.
We create a new, truly holistic experience. Fast and digital, blowing the dust off processes and pushing the perceived boundaries to dramatically simplify the process. But with people at the heart of each decision, we bring in deep knowledge and human connection.
With this combination, we will make each real estate transaction easier, more secure and financially sustainable.
Personality
As a brand, we want to own certain attributes we stand for, can rely on in decision making processes, and step up to when delivering on our mission. They shape our unique personality and set Urbyo apart from the rest. This is what defines us:
Succeeding in real estate takes a lot of will and time — or a mentor to help. Urbyo is the mentor. A mentor who will see eye-to-eye with everyone involved in the chain, from the first time buyer over to the institutional seller and all between.
We genuinely take this business seriously and believe that, given the significant size of each deal, every transaction deserves greatest attention and care.
We have a deep understanding of the real estate market and know what to look for. But we don't just provide abstract knowledge, we select the right properties in a highly personalized process.
We're there from beginning to end and even beyond: We handle the financing and guide each individual through the entire process. Even after the signing, we help manage properties and portfolios. As long as we're needed. Whenever we're needed.
None of this requires a suit and tie. We skip outdated conventions and keep things casual and welcoming. And we're thrilled with every closure we make possible.
All of this makes us to who we are.
Urbyo — Real Estate Revolutionaries.
Claim
To help people understand what we stand for instantly understand what we stand for and provide a solution to a challenge they face, we cumulate our brand’s virtues in a claim that we can communicate externally. We have to reach buyers and sellers with messages respective to their needs. Their views on the market, the actual property and their motivations might differ at first but eventually align. Some individuals may even belong to both groups. We address this in a spread claim that incorporates both perspectives:
Universal/Seller facing
The New Era Of Real Estate
Buyer facing
The New Era Of Ownership
Values
Every action we take, every touchpoint we create brings our brand to life. In the app, on the platform and communication, be it “one to many” or “one to one,” via social media, mail, video call or in real life. In each case, we want to act in line with the values naturally derived from our brand’s personality. These are:
Genuinely experienced
Making a deal of such significant size on an online platform might initially cause insecurity in many buyers. Proven experience, quality processes, helpful content, clear speech and consistently good usability, among others, result in trust. Many Urbyo users are first-time buyers. Showing our experience and proficiency lets them know and feel that they are in the best of hands. Experience and trustworthiness are equally as important to sellers: only when we are able to establish trust and prove to be a market-leading, experienced player, will we be considered the right partner.
Joyfully sincere
We don’t sell a pair of sneakers here. What we do is literally „a big deal“ for our users, at both ends of the deal. For many private buyers and sellers, we are the one platform where they complete some of the largest transactions of their lifetime. For institutional sellers, we are an integrated part of their job and value chain. Sincerity and trust, therefore, are at the very core of what we do.
But wait, it’s not what you might think now: we do not fall into technocratic legalese or bank terminology. We still communicate at eye level and like in a conversation, take their needs into consideration and meet them where they are.
And yes, this can be fun. Better: we make sure it is. We are a new breed, and therefore we define our own approach. Just because we take things seriously, doesn't mean we have to act or talk overly formal. This accounts towards all of our users, buyers and sellers equally.
Optimistically committed
Doubt, questions, challenges arise along the way, this is no news for us, the experienced professionals we are. We anticipate them, take them seriously and offer the right solution. We set deadlines and stick to them. We want to resolve any issue as quickly as possible but also as carefully as necessary. Our promise is that we will solve problems and expedite processes along the way, with the glass always half full and good guidance on the way to the safe harbor. This commitment accounts for both sides of the respective deal. Our job is to make it happen!
Look & Feel
Urbyo was born to revolutionize the way we look at real estate, so it’s just natural that our look aligns with this approach. We shake off the dust of decades with a small but distinct set of brand elements that gives our product a unique, bold and fresh look and feel. In every design decision we take, we aim to push the boundaries of tried-and-true pattern and rethink perceived standards.
We ultimately deliver a better experience within an outstanding product — all the way from first perception to frequent usage.
Product Design Principles
We commit ourselves to only a few but absolutely vital principles that serve as the foundation of our product design. We apply these in every decision and feature. They are the foundation and the rating key for the feature set, functional aspects and the overall user experience.
Disperse complexity, provide guidance
At Urbyo, we tackle one of the most cluttered journeys out there: the selection and decision making process involves a vast amount of parameters and calculations, documents, steps and 3rd party integration on all sides, while the actual deal is processed at a notary and numerous official offices along the way until legal closure.
As a result, we are dealing with high complexity in almost every aspect of the experience. Our aspiration is that it doesn’t feel that way at the user’s end. By slicing information in snackable bits and pieces and providing clear guidance along all actions, we aim at reducing the perceived complexity. We don’t eliminate any functionality or reduce information that is key for decision making. But we disperse it based on context and situation.
By progressively disclosing the relevant parts, we dramatically improve the understanding of the process, provide clear guidance, enable educated preselection and ultimately help to close deals quickly, easily and highly securely.
Rethink standards, strive for excellence
Sure, standards are good. They provide security, raise trust, speed up usage, and lower the cognitive load for our users. However, when you call for a revolution, challenging the status quo and “conventional wisdom” is inevitable. The arguments of learned behavior and best practice are valid. But only until we come up with a solution that has the potential to make a difference for the better. Then, we’re absolutely up for exploring, evolving, and pushing things to the next level – striving for excellence in the tiny details and the grand theme.
We don’t design by committee but rather make a bold decision. Aiming to make our product not only unique but uniquely user-friendly and performant.
Embrace differences, serve everyone
Urbyo is here for everyone: The one time buyer and the frequent shopper. The newbie and the pro. The gut-driven and the data-driven decision maker. The fast mover and the deep thinker. We understand the different mindsets and build a product that serves the needs and wishes of all of the above.
We incorporate every level of proficiency and provide our users with the right tools and information to make them feel safe, to actually understand every detail as well as the big picture and to finally make an enlightened decision. We are not a closed shop nor an exclusive community for the one-percenters. We take our mission to bring ownership to everyone very seriously.
Typography
In the original sense typography is about legibility and therefore ease of use, especially when it comes to the complex functionality and features within a complex digital product like ours. But there is another dimension, coming from the brand perspective: distinctiveness. This is why we chose our beloved corporate font family called Spock, designed by the foundry Los Andes from Chile. Its many options and stylistic alternatives provide us with the freedom of compiling letters in a most unique way, delivering optimized legibility on any screen together with striking characteristics that will surely be remembered by everyone who stumbles across them.
Our typeface is one of the absolute foundations of our product and brand design.
Graphic Assets
We are here to serve the people. Which is why they are at the heart of our visual identity. We combine real people with the actual subject of the deals — real estate — and distinct ornaments in Urbyo’s green color. By that we blend all aspects and elements of our visual brand design in one beautiful piece of art. Speaking of color: we use it with prudence and by that establish not only a distinct look but also a guidance system that helps our users to find their way, on our and platforms as well as in our (social) communications.
Attitude
Urbyo shakes up the market. We think differently than the competition — and communicate accordingly. In line with our values, we communicate our unique experience with the sincerity it deserves, all the while maintaining a deeply felt, honest enthusiasm for the subject. Our communication is determined, binding, and always optimistic. We always keep the goals of our users in mind and believe in their achievement. What does this mean for our communication? It’s simple:
Competent and cooperative
Sure, we know a lot about real estate, but that doesn't mean we think we're better. We talk to our users at eye level and treat them with respect and understanding. We are not teachers or snooty experts, but experienced colleagues who still know exactly how it feels to jump into the deep end. We make that clear in our content by communicating in a down-to-earth and informative way.
Indispensably honest
We don't fool anyone or mislead people. Clickbait, sensationalization and false statements? You won't find that with us. We convince our users with transparency, simplicity and great support that accompanies and inspires people.
As clear as necessary, as easy as possible
Not everyone understands real estate topics right away. With so many technical and legal terms, it’s no surprise. In our communication, we always make sure that important information is complete, but also completely understandable. Clear explanations in our texts make them easy to comprehend — no matter a person’s prior knowledge of the subject.
Problem? No problem
When questions or frustration arise, we stay on top of it, while being friendly and engaging. We always have a solution ready that gives people more security, clarity and confidence. This peace of mind helps them to invest again in no time.
Characteristics
Regionally authentic
In general, we communicate in a universally understandable way. However, when we write about a specific city or region, we occasionally use specific terms or phrases to stay in context (e.g., "By the way, the Späti is just around the corner."). This helps our users to classify the information appropriately. And it shows that we really are concerned with local details, which are a key aspect of real estate valuation.
Absolutely colloquial
We like to use colloquial terms and anglicisms (e.g., "easy" instead of "einfach," "checken" instead of "verstehen," "nice" instead of "gut"). We also like abbreviated, colloquial spelling, because that's exactly how we speak ("Mach's", "gibt's" etc.). But we use both in moderate amounts. This is the only way to remain what we are: serious and competent. Of course, we make a distinction between informative and contractual, legally relevant content, in which we show that we can also get to the heart of things without using colloquial language.
Short and sweet
No one likes to read long, convoluted sentences, especially when it comes to complex, important topics. Because they simply need to be understood. That's why we prefer to stick to shorter sentences with few subordinate clauses. That way, everyone can follow our content and understand it from start to finish.
Hey, you!
We see our users and readers as equals. No ifs, ands or buts. That's why we only use "Du" (informal “you”) in our communication, or the first name/user name of the person when addressing them directly. This is personal and approachable, just as we want to be at Urbyo. Of course, the whole thing has a limit from a purely legal standpoint: all legally relevant documents (contracts, etc.) are formulated in the official form of salutation. But who knows, maybe one day we’ll have the power in the market to tackle that too ;-)
Gender & Inclusion
Urbyo is for everyone. This is also reflected in our communication. We always look for the most neutral, inclusive wording. That's why we only resort to the German gender colon in cases where it doesn't work any other way. While this, like other punctuation solutions (asterisk, underscore, slash), has its drawbacks, it fits best into the text and is read by readers as a pause. If it is appropriate or the gender colon does not work ideally for grammatical reasons (e.g. with der:des, dem:der), we are also happy to write out (e.g. "der Vertrag der neuen Mieterin oder des neuen Mieters"). In English, we use the gender-neutral pronouns “they/them” or “you”.
Contact
you have learned a lot about what the Urbyo brand is and stands for. Of course this book will be updated frequently and it’s worth to come back from time to time, so don’t hesitate to stop over. Also, please feel free to spread the word to whom it may concern. If, in the unlikely case of event, you might have any questions, please feel free to get in touch at any time.
Onwards and upwards,
your brand team at Urbyo
Any questions? Get in touch.
