KIKO
Real Estate & Auctions
2026
A flexible visual identity for diverse target markets
TL:DR
I set and guide visual and creative concepts, designs, and systems for an in-house team. We work agency-style for the company's contracted sales agents, creating integrated campaigns under strict brand limitations.
Challenges
The Client
KIKO is a family-owned real estate and auction company established in 1945. KIKO contracts over 60 sales agents whose individual markets range from high-end residential real estate to industrial equipment to fine jewelry.
Inconsistent Visual Identity
Both the clients and the company lacked consistency across print and digital.
Inconsistent Visual Communication
Campaigns were communicating different messges across channels and complicated by multiple target markets.
No Visual Design System
The company had no system to produce visuals at scale. They lacked templates and production process.
Solutions
Project Ownership
As the first designer in company history, I developed a cohesive strong visual identity for the KIKO brand. The identity retains iconic imagery from the 80 years of historic visuals but provides flexibility for the variety of client target markets and overall KIKO business objectives.
I own, develop, and maintain visual brand guidelines.
I ensure collateral produced by in-house and partners amplifies and protects the visual identity.
I lead creative direction and project management.
From concept to launch, I lead design and visuals for integrated client campaigns across channels.
I design & maintain processes & systems.
I train and refine inter-departmental processes and scalable visual systems for myself, junior designers and creative partners to meet business goals.
Team Structure
Marketing Director
(me) Creative & Design Manager
Social Media Manager
Digital Marketing Manager
Junior Designer
Approaches & Decisions
Researching & Launching Visual Guidelines
KIKO had logos, colors, and a font that I couldn’t change. So I gathered recent and historic material associated with the brand and its contracted agents. I looked for repeat visual motifs and interviewed clients for their communication preferences, and unspoken values. I started with a single company-wide communication medium: print advertising. I led iterative feedback sessions for complete buy-in on one visual that utilized brand motifs. I designed dozens of templates in Adobe InDesign to have maximum flexibility for client preferences and offer ample development opportunities for other deliverables.
A single issue of a local auction publication showing the ad system and templates I designed
A close up of the design motifs and typographic system
I created a priority-driven waterfall list of items to re-design. Any re-designed elements were printed and displayed in the corporate office to:
Inspire and hold designers accountable to evolving visual language
See and touch what target markets were seeing & touching (ensuring no documents lived only on computer drives to be forgotten)
Observe reactions of clients and invite feedback with them as user research
Some of the brand wall in my office
Rural digital billboard
Client postcard (left) and bi-folded and tabbed self-mailer (right)
Animated ads for a client's local Accuweather site
A brochure with an inset booklet using an arching style line like a plane landing.
Building the Website in Figma
Eventually, KIKO leadership wanted to re-design website, but insisted on using previously approved JPG sketches from an outside contractor. From those JPGs, I built usable UI files on Figma, managing the project on Jira with developers. This project had stalled for 4 years until I was hired.
An auction event page built in Figma.
An auction event page built in Figma.
Impacts
Business Impacts
My skills as an IC designer allowed KIKO to expand the team, and I took new title as creative manager.
Deeper client relationships led to increased YoY design campaign requests with my team
Leadership chose to create an identity for new division with me as creative lead
01
KIKO expanded the design team with me as manager
My skills as an IC designer allowed KIKO to expand the team, and I took a new title as creative manager.
02
Year-over-year client requests increased
My client relationships deepened and led to increased YoY design campaign requests with my team.
03
I was chosen to creative direct the new division identity
The company desired to create a new separate division to limit business liability and I was chosen to creative direct it.
Personal Reflections & Gut Feelings
I improved my ability to identify and communicate when problems truly need operational solutions rather than visual campaigns.
I believe copy written by myself and my director seem to outperform AI in engagement.
An on-staff photographer would allow me to rely less on client photography and increase the quality of my deliverables.
