Century 21 (real estate) Logo

Century 21 (real estate) Logo PNG

The Century 21 logo represents the peak of practicality, complemented by futurism. It’s no wonder that the company’s founders admitted that when choosing the name, they preferred the futuristic option, although they had a simpler one in reserve. Now the graphic-text emblem attracts clients with its concept, color, and shape.

Meaning and History

The franchising real estate company was founded in 1971 when two entrepreneurs opened it in the city of Madison, New Jersey. Art Bartlett and Marsh Fisher took their time choosing a name, eventually settling on what they considered a futuristic option. The main requirement was for it to be perceived as if the company had existed for a long time, but without being clichéd. Balancing between several options, they unanimously agreed on the current name.

The Century 21 logo adheres to an expressive concept – it is unusual. Of course, there is little futurism in it, but it cannot be said that it is absent. Throughout the years, a striving for precise geometry has been evident. Straight lines and even circles are present in both the image and the inscription. The number “21” highlights the company’s relevance to the 21st century and its focus on the future.

What is Century 21?

Century 21 is a real estate franchising service founded in the United States in 1971. It brings together over 14,000 brokerage firms worldwide, providing a working platform for real estate agents. The company’s headquarters are located in Orange County, California.

1971 – 1991

In the text-graphic emblem, the focus is on the company’s field of activity. Beneath the large “Century” inscription, there is an image of a building with unusual architecture. It has a flat roof and three parts: a garage, a residential house, and an entrance area with tall arches. Each part has individual design elements, but they are drawn with a single continuous line. To harmoniously incorporate the number “2”, designers made the “y” leg diagonal.

1991 – 2018

After the Century 21 logo’s modernization, the inscription retained its previous font but gained additional boldness. As a result, the letters appear somewhat bulkier and larger. The drawing, however, underwent significant changes, as nothing remained of the old version. It was replaced by three geometric fragments: a long horizontal line, a short vertical column, and a triangle symbolizing a gabled roof. Additionally, the emblem now featured a yellow color.

2018 – today

In 2018, designers introduced a radical transformation of the real estate platform’s identity. None of the familiar details were preserved in the logo: everything was subject to change. Developers removed the smooth font with diagonal curves, reduced the numbers, and abandoned the real estate symbol. Now the logo displays the company’s name with wide intervals between the glyphs, and the number “21” is aligned with the word “Century.” The result is a combination of luxury and accessibility.

This is emphasized by the combination of dark gray and gold, as it is much more appealing than the black and yellow pairing. Despite the absence of serifs, the logo acquired sophistication and chic. In this way, the brand caters to the tastes of millennials, who have become the company’s main target audience as they now represent the primary financially capable population segment. The new design was developed by the MullenLowe agency.

Font and Colors

A futuristic font with unconventional writing – Avant Garde Gothic, created in 1970 by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnasse – was chosen for the futuristic emblems. It consists of diagonal letters, demonstrating a departure from classic forms and a leaning towards modernity, as its foundation was the Bauhaus movement, which dominated Germany in the 1920s.

After the redesign, the logo features a spacious inscription executed in a smooth typeface with clear and understandable glyphs. The approved font families include Arial, Barlow, Oakes, and Typold. They were approved by the Century 21 brand for the new identity. The modernized version works well on signs, website headers, brochures, flyers, business cards, branded bags, and other marketing materials. This is very important for the company, and it emphasizes this fact to subconsciously connect with millennials.

The corporate palette was also adapted to meet the demands of the new generation of consumers. The real estate franchising company first abandoned the classic monochrome and then introduced a noble gray-golden color scheme. Such colors balance on the edge of luxury but do not fully immerse themselves in it, maintaining an aura of modern sophistication.

Century 21 color codes