Fletcher Living
Fletcher Living is a branch of one of the largest companies in New Zealand. They are committed to creating quality new homes from standalones to terraces, and apartments. Choosing locations with good access to amenities and developing neighbourhoods with a strong sense of community. Their homes are inspired by life and are designed for living.
Having built two new blocks of apartments in the Paletton Precinct area of Stonefields, with plans to build a further two along with a row of terraces, Fletcher Living needed an efficient way to sell a volume of new homes.
This was to be achieved by turning one of the newly built ground floor apartments into a sales suite, which could continue to operate for selling all five blocks of buildings.
Information architecture –
With the experience in marketing property, along with the established working relationship with Fletcher Living, the content was relatively clear on what needed to be included. Floorplans and floorplates show the product, the Fletcher Living advantage communicates the benefits of buying one of their homes, and the imagery sells the dream. Lifestyle imagery is the most valuable as it shares the experience of what it feels like to live there, this can include real life scenes within the home as well as the wider surroundings. Interior photography wasn't deemed a priority here as there would be a furnished apartment open to the public to view, and nor was exterior photography as this sales suite was within the finished building.
On receiving the floorplan of the apartment which was to become the sales suite, first surfaces A-G were identified to potentially use. This was followed up by a site visit with the client to be walked through how the space would be used. The route enters from the street, over the deck and through one of the front sliders, to be greeted by the sales team around the kitchen island, then led up to the open apartment on the first floor, and when coming back down preferably being led into the private room for signing a contract. This walk through led to identifying walls H and I as additional surfaces for use, as well as defining the D-E area to fit sliding doors which the sales team like to use for talking through the different floorplans. Vinyls for the exterior windows, and floor stickers to map out the route up to the open apartment, were also discussed but these weren't taken forward.
Design –
The content was allocated to the chosen surfaces, and initial design options mocked up, to create a plan ready for presenting to the clients and their wider colleagues. Talking through this well prepared plan meant all the clients had to say was "good to go" to get the final artworks underway. Another site visit was made with the printer/installer to gain exact measurements. This approach meant measurements were understood in the same way by the person starting the design process and the person finishing it, as well as being able to talk through materials and fittings in context. Design options were chosen and developed into final artworks, ready to be produced and installed.
Frosted vinyls of the branded development identity were made for the glass sliders, as it is health and safety for full glass doors to have something on them so they're not walked in to, these were readable from the street where people would enter.
On entering the sales suite walls A-B are in view, making them a prime place for lifestyle imagery to set the scene. This young, professional looking couple are representative of the target market, and the composition lends itself to working around a doorway.
The front of the kitchen island was identified as a surface which suited having the branded development identity applied, as this is on view as you move towards the sales team to be greeted, and is visible from the street. This cut out acrylic lettering was applied to a backing board to protect the finish of the kitchen island.
The fitted structure of four sliding doors was decided by the client and their wardrobe door contractor. The four doors would be stacked on separate runners, with door one remaining fixed to the left, the remaining three doors could be pulled out to the right one at a time. The depth of the runners used wall D whilst they pulled out across wall E. Working with the wardrobe door contractor meant gaining detailed insight of the structure as well as being able to plan how and when best for our installer to apply the vinyls to the doors. Understanding the structure influenced the design by knowing where doors would overlap and where would be visible.
These doors were to house the floorplans of the first two apartment buildings. Each building gets two doors, and those doors are split between the ground floor and the upper floors, this is because the ground floors have different floorplans to the floors above them. The upper floors door also comes first for each building as it contains the most amount of apartments available for sale. Each floorplan is accompanied by bedroom, bathroom, and parking space icons to see at a glance what each floorplan offers, as well as the apartment numbers it relates to. The disclaimer text is included on door one so it is always visible, and custom stickers were also created to strike out the sold apartment numbers so it is clear to see what remains available.
The floorplans themselves are received as architects drawings, which are designed to communicate between architects and builders, they take some tidying up to clearly communicate to potential homeowners. Any annotation and symbols are stripped leaving behind the physical details, walls are filled in as solid blocks to be seen clearer, the inclusion of furniture in the rooms makes it easier to envision the space which luckily these floorplans came with, and all the colours are stripped and become one brand colour so they suit their new surroundings. These floorplans are resized so they are all in scale to eachother across both buildings so there's no illusion of extra space, and they are placed in their correct orientation and aligned to eachother where possible, so the viewer can understand their context with ease.
Wall Ei was a late addition requested by the client to cover wall E behind the sliding doors, this gave a visual as you walked past the sliding doors or if all the doors were stacked. This render is of the proposed terraces to be built after all four apartment blocks, so if someone isn't interested in buying an apartment the sales team have reference to the terraces to tempt them with.
During the walk through we were led by the client in the same way the sales team would lead the visitors. Passing through the hallway, to leave the sales suite apartment on the way to the open apartment, meant walking single file for long enough for the pause in conversation to be noticeable. Wall H was identified for visual stimulation to ease any awkwardness and to give people something to look at rather than the back of the person in front of them. This image is of the view from the apartment buildings, adding to the lifestyle imagery by reinforcing the feel of the surroundings. The front door of the apartment is hinged to the left of this image, so allowance was made should this door be open to not interfere with the content, placing the branded development identity to feel balanced whether the door was open or closed.
Wall I was also identified on the walk through, this is the wall in view at the bottom of the stairs when coming back down from the open apartment. The image is of the boardwalk through the wetlands, to invoke the feeling of heading out and enjoying the surroundings.
On re-entering the sales suite you'll be led over to wall C, where perspex panels contain the floorplates for the first two apartment buildings. These perspex panels are placed below head height of the average person, as looking down on the apartments makes them feel achievable, instead of aspirational and out of reach. Floorplates show the floorplan for the entire floor, and all the floors of each building are included, this gives context to each apartment. Again, the floorplates are resized to be in scale to eachother across both buildings so there's no illusion of size. And again, custom stickers were created to circle the sold apartment numbers so it is clear to see exactly what is available. The floorplates are strategically placed as the last content on the route and next to the exit, so that if you're not ready to sign a contract now, the remaining availability is your leaving thought.
At this point the visitor is preferably ready to buy, where they'll be led into a private room to sign a contract. Wall G is branded with the Fletcher Living converging reds, along with the Fletcher Living flag, and the angle of the reds matches the angle of the end of the flag for added cohesion. This is an ideal place for the Fletcher Living advantage copywriting, to reassure the buyer with confidence. The text is large enough to be read whilst sat around the table, or to pass the time if the sales member needs to pop to the office room for further print outs. As the doorway in wall A reveals through to this wall, the Fletcher Living flag was consciously positioned to be in this view, so upon entering the sales suite you are reassured by the Fletcher Living presence, and to add appeal to entering this room.
Produce –
Once signed off, each final artwork was prepared for print and supplied to the printer/installer. Each print file was accompanied by confirmation of the production specification, as well as an installation guide, to ensure the end product is exactly as intended. The early involvement of the printer/installer, and transparent dialogue throughout, ensures ease of handover and confidence in the team.
Result –
The end result is a sales suite which understands what visitors need to know in order to make a purchase, as well as providing the tools to support the sales team working there. The sales suite is also set up for the ease of longevity, so as buildings are sold all that needs to be updated are building specific vinyls on the sliding doors along with the building specific vinyls on the perspex panels, meaning five buildings can be sold at the expense of one sales suite.
By working alongside and around the builders finishing off the interiors, meant the day the building was finished the sales suite was also finished, removing any lag time between completion and being able to open to the public.
The sales suite was so successful, Fletcher Living spoke of rolling the approach out across developments in its other regions throughout the country.
Carol Morrison – Fletcher Living Central Sales Manager
Alyssa Metcalfe – Fletcher Living Central Marketing Manager
Nik Payne – Mount Deluxe Director
Lucy Monk – Mount Deluxe Designer
user experience, spacial design, brand guidelines, project management, client management, team management, quality control
Jeff Fuller – Havana Print Works Printer/Installer
Wardrobe Door Contractor – Boston Wardrobes
Site Manager – Fletcher Living Paletton Precinct
Alyssa Metcalfe – Fletcher Living Central Marketing Manager
Nik Payne – Mount Deluxe Director
Lucy Monk – Mount Deluxe Designer
user experience, spacial design, brand guidelines, project management, client management, team management, quality control
Jeff Fuller – Havana Print Works Printer/Installer
Wardrobe Door Contractor – Boston Wardrobes
Site Manager – Fletcher Living Paletton Precinct
Illustrator – Photoshop – InDesign – Acrobat