An in-depth look at Mira’s branding

Every strong brand needs an insight-driven strategy at the core of its identity. One that first takes into account who is in this space, the audience, and what they care about, and then develops something that will make them stop and take a second look. With a name that’s memorable and a verbal and visual identity that speaks to our audience on an emotional level, not just amenities and location. A place that makes sense with, but stands out against, its surroundings. However, as a Denver-based agency, we did not have the luxury of knowing Tempe inside and out, like we do our own city. So, to make sure we really knew how to speak Tempe in a real and resonating way, our first step in the branding process was to become acquainted with the city.  

Setting our sights on a solid strategy

Sometimes strategy starts with jumping on a plane and spending eight hours in a new city. This was that sometimes. We started our in-depth Tempe immersion with a one-day site visit where we purposefully wandered the downtown area, visited the future development dirt patch (after all, creatives can be inspired by anything—including the flowers growing on a construction site), and even pretended we were moving to Arizona so we could tour the competition’s properties.  

Once we felt nearly fluent in all–things Tempe, we sat down with the Transwestern team for our branding discovery workshop. Here, we identified the one thing this brand—and building—would need to deliver to our student and young professional audience: A place of refuge and comfort, where they can truly unwind and be who they are. A place where they would know that the best parts of Tempe were right outside, but they had their own personal sanctuary inside. Their very own desert haven.   

A name that entices you to take a look

With a solidified strategy ready to inspire, we got to work creating a name that perfectly aligned with our brand POV and desert–haven personality. Introducing Mira. With two meaningful translations of “look here” in Spanish and “wonderful” in Latin—the languages used for both Novus and Transwestern’s residential complex, Vero—the name Mira fits perfectly with its surroundings. In addition, with its calm, comforting tone and energizing built-in call to action, Mira subtly invites people to come take a look.   

The making of Mira’s identity

Bringing Mira to life in a way that would attract our target audience took more than just giving it a name. We needed a full identity. A voice and a story, colors, photography, patterns, and logo. Everything that would take this comforting and calm, yet bright and fresh, brand off the page, into the world, and seven stories up on a building.  So that’s what we did. Combining a warm, inviting color palette inspired by Tempe’s natural beauty and a voice that is soothing but spirited, Mira’s identity creates a perfect coalescence of tranquility and vibrancy that defines the brand.

Taking Mira online

It doesn’t matter how good a brand is if no one ever sees it. To ensure Mira was seen and paid attention to, we worked with Transwestern and our partners at Jonah Digital to get the website up and running. The twist? As we started to create the website, Transwestern let us know that the target audience had shifted from both young professionals and students to mostly students. With the goal of attracting this younger crowd, we focused on dialing up the energy while still creating balance. This came in the form of lively copy and lifestyle imagery that shows off the perfect duality of both the spirit-lifting community spaces and serene personal sanctuaries students will enjoy while living at Mira.