The 12
The 12 is a vibrant community of 80 single- and multi-family homes designed to celebrate the energy and diversity of Chicago’s 60612 zip code. I developed this concept for a Chicago residential homebuilder, and the scope of work included research, naming, positioning, brand development, identity design, marketing strategy, collateral, website, and environmental graphics.
Steps from Little Italy and just minutes to the Illinois Medical District, West Loop, and River North, The 12 is emerging as one of Chicago’s most promising residential districts, with all the character these well-established neighborhoods have embodied for generations.
Research for this brand program began with a close look at the zip codes surrounding the development sites and the overlapping demographics of various target populations. I then incorporated data from Esri’s Tapestry Market Segmentation, a geodemographic system based on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, to enrich and validate my research.
In the final phase of research, I developed buyer personas to help us better understand specific homebuyer needs. The foundational principles shown here served as a starting point for drafting individual personas based on geographic, demographic, and psychographic characteristics.
In walking the neighborhoods of 60612, I found inspiration in the vestiges of Little Italy’s influence on the area and the architecture preserved by the creation of the Tri-Taylor district. The area is filled with the pale colors of Chicago common brick and newer, intensely red brick construction. Basing the identity on a zip code also led me to start thinking about postal and travel motifs as well.
After an extensive naming and vetting process, the development team overwhelmingly agreed on The 12, a nickname I coined based on the 60612 zip code in which the homes are located.
Taking cues from the brick coloring I saw all around me, I based The 12 brand standards on a palette of golden tans, neutral grays, and reddish browns. I chose two typefaces, one based on scripts seen in Italian storefront signage and the other a modern interpretation of a Gothic face, to create a mix of old and new that this emerging neighborhood represents.
Once the primary medallion logo was finalized, I added variations to use for badging various elements in secondary applications.
A wallpaper using all three variations of The 12 stamp was created to mimic the culture of postering and stickering common in Chicago neighborhoods.
A different promo card was created for each phase of The 12 project as a convenient takeaway for visitors to the model home. The card features a QR code that visitors scan to access information for the specific property.
A different promo card was created for each phase of The 12 project as a convenient takeaway for visitors to the model home. The card features a QR code that visitors scan to access information for the specific property.
The brochure includes all relevant information for both home designs in the Lexington phase of The 12, including floor plans, interior photographs, site plan, home features, neighborhood amenities, area map, and builder information.
Designed to intersect with the digital promotion strategy, postcard mailers that target prime neighboring zip codes, as well as professionals in the nearby Illinois Medical District, reveal increasingly more information over time. The first in the series is shown here.
Along with the usual resources found on a home-listing website—photographs, floor plans, finishes—The 12 site first introduces visitors to the neighborhood in a video to let them know: this is more than a house; it’s a community. PR and social media campaigns leveraged the community’s reputation as “Chicago’s most Instagrammable alley,” thanks to the commissioned murals on each of the home’s garage doors, and helped to drive traffic to the site.
Neighborhood-specific lightpole banners are common in the city, so it was only natural to use them to promote a new neighborhood. The aim was not only to generate excitement and interest for people new to the area, but also to create a sense of pride for residents who already live there.
The first design frames the perimeter of the district, serving as a welcome mat of sorts at various gateways. Banners that feature the wallpaper pattern line the blocks on which The 12 homes are located. Whereas the perimeter banners promote the concept of a new west, the block banners promote a message of neighborhood pride.
Serendipitously, the builder owns a vacant corner lot on a nearby busy thoroughfare, so I suggested we add a fence wrap to the lot, to start building interest and excitement within the neighborhood. During construction, phase-specific site signs mark the blocks currently under development. The Sold Out sign helps to stoke a little FOMO for phases under construction, when deployed at streets on which all homes have sold.
