We caught up with Vicky Martin of Paper Crane Property to talk all about the recent rebrand of her property business, and how it's impacted the interior design of her HMO's.

If you're already familiar with Vicky's properties (you can check out her Instagram here if not), you'll already know how stunning her spaces are. Tranquil, stylish, and well-balanced are all words we'd use to describe the Paper Crane style.

As well as prioritising the quality of interiors within her HMOs, Vicky is also driven by sustainability and promoting positive well-being within her property development work.

So where do you begin when branding a business with such high values and soul? How do you settle on a new name for an existing business – one that perfectly encompasses what you're about and what you stand for?

In Vicky's case, she first worked on the Branding & Design Discovery Programme with Jade to solidify those important brand values, and then worked with the team at Raw Clay to rename and rebrand the business – from VM Investments to Paper Crane.

The key criteria going into the renaming process were as follows – the new name:

· Must be future proofed to allow offering to adapt to different services + locations
· Should evoke/reflect the quality of the brand soul’s values
· Must be easy to pronounce, recognise, remember
· Must be easily spelled with no more than a couple of possibilities
· Must be unique and available to use

Together, Vicky and the Raw Clay team explored the concept of 'zen living' and thought about how to best represent those calming qualities of the brand through a brand name. They needed it to really reflect the type of environment that Vicky intends to create for her tenants – spaces that support the emotional and mental wellbeing of students, allowing for a sense of escapism and peace.

But a brand name for a property business isn't just about how it sounds in connection with your interiors or designs, it's also got to mean something to you. What are you rooted in? What is unique about your business? What do you want your name to symbolise?

During the naming process, they also explored both historic and present-day links to the craft and creativity roots of Nottingham (lace-making and textiles), and how those threads might work well to support a sustainability-conscious business. As well as looking at what the crane in particular symbolises in different cultures, and what it could symbolise for Vicky's brand.

In the end, this in-depth exploration has led Vicky to an amazingly expressive name, that both encompasses the history of her business and expresses the type of brand she wants to be.

We pressed Vicky about how she found the process of renaming and rebranding, and how she now designs her interiors with the new branding in mind.

1. What was the biggest reason behind rebranding your business?

The main reason I decided it was time to rebrand was because I wanted to have a brand that actually fitted with my values and that I could use in the design of my properties. For people to walk in one of my HMOs and say "this is a Paper Crane property", would absolutely make my day!

2. Your business was previously named VH Martin Investments - why did you decide to rename?

VH Martin Ltd was set up to cover both my consultancy and property businesses, which at the time I thought was a good idea and didn’t think too much about the branding aspect of it. As it was just my name, I realised it didn't really mean anything to my property customers, so I thought it was a good time to split out the property side of the business and give it its own identity and soul that fit with my values.

3. Was finding a new brand name difficult? And how did you settle on the name Paper Crane Property in the end?

I used Raw Clay to help with the rebrand as I know how difficult this process can be and I really didn’t have any idea on what I wanted to be known as. Even with their help, I still found it super hard!

There were a few options presented to me but as soon as I saw Paper Crane and the concept behind it, I instantly knew this was my new brand name. It has both the sustainability side to it, as well as the mindful and calm vibe I wanted, so I connected with it straight away. The team are genius!

4. How have you found the process of rebranding your business - exciting, daunting, energising? Has it changed anything for you?

I found the process rather daunting, but as it was a chance to really connect with what I wanted the brand to be and discover how the rebranding process fully works, I did become excited about it.

I started the process working with Jade, understanding what styles and designs I liked and compiling mood boards on interiors as well as typography, colours etc. Jade then suggested that I work with Raw Clay to develop my branding, as they have similar values and I still didn’t have a clue how to come up with a new brand name! When I met with the Raw Clay team I knew that they were a good fit and I was excited to see what ideas they would have.

5. What did you want your brand to achieve, and does it meet those expectations?

I wanted to create a brand that people can connect with and also to be able to use it in the interior design of the properties I develop. Having recently finished my latest HMO property, the branding worked so well in the interior design, providing a really cohesive product.

This definitely exceeded my expectations as I was worried about how to translate it into the interior elements. It was also important that the values were clear so that I could get these across to our customers in order for them to resonate with us. Our brand values are Balance, Authenticity, Mindfulness and Quality - I believe that the brand that has been created reflects all of these, from our logo and website, through to our properties.

6. What do you love most about your new branding?

The way that it has captured everything I wanted it to and represents my business perfectly.

7. Has your new rebrand already impacted the interior design of your projects? If so, please explain how.

Yes, it certainly has. I had my biggest HMO purchase complete not long after finalising all of the branding, so it was great to get straight into designing the property using it.

Although the two previous projects I had completed used a similar colour palette, they didn’t have the branded design elements to them. I really feel that these branded design elements used in my latest project bring everything together, as I have used bespoke art work in the property and really thought about the mindful living aspect.

Making decisions on the interiors was also made easier as I had my branding as the focus, so I ensured that all materials and colours used fitted in to this to provide a cohesive design.

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A huge thank you to Vicky Martin for sharing her branding and renaming experience with us – we hope it's given you an interesting insight into the process! You can keep up-to-date with all Paper Crane news over on their instagram, to see more of their branded properties.

If you think it's time to take your brand to the next level, don't hesitate to join The Hive Members Club now and start working on the interactive Branding & Design Programme, or you could reach out to Raw Clay for more information on their services.