Uncommon Creative Studio launched its first work for mortgage broker, Habito, in 2018. That first campaign, Hell or Habito, was outrageous (as you can see from the YouTube-activated age-restriction). Brilliantly outrageous; financial commercial with all the usual politeness of allusion and nuance stripped away from it and ad that really understood, and importantly openly and honestly conveyed the struggle of getting a mortgage. A spot aptly called Mortgage Hell (Part 1).

After a brief detour in 2019 into Mortgage Kama Sutra in 2019, Mortgage Hell returned in 2020

Habito now has awards in its arsenal and a full reband by Uncommon Creative Studio that includes  a new logo, website and user experience. The redesign was led by Uncommon, working in collaboration with acclaimed New York visual artist, Saiman Chow, to create its graphics, textures and movement inspired by a phantasmagoric aesthetic.

The design underlines the transformational way Habito fights against mortgage hell every day, whether that’s cost, stress, time or jargon. Uncommon has imagined a very!! appealing alternate universe in which a mortgage is wildly easier and more joyful than ever before.

The phantasmagoric visual style is applied through a technique of shifting images and colourful patterns that are continually moving and changing to create a dream-like effect. If mortgage hell is a nightmare, Habito is a euphoric dreamscape.

The identity represents a beautiful badass version of heaven, where everything is easy and always moving forwards. The design aims to create the dream of how getting a mortgage might feel and suggests the effortless progress people can make using Habito with its continual movement.

The surrealist look and feel connotes transformation, the design’s muted pastels and striking pops of colour suggest the serenity of mortgage application with Habito. The company’s  signature winged keys feature more prominently than before and its refreshed logo now also includes a winged ‘O’ — as well as a winged ‘H’ icon. To accompany the new branding, Uncommon has created a visual toolkit, which includes assets that make up Habito’s new brand world such as the signature flying key, the logotype, the winged letters and coloured textures.

Abba Newbery, chief marketing officer at Habito, stated, “We loved this aesthetic the moment we saw it. The imagery and user experience at times feel like something from a dream which to me is the perfect antidote to the hell, stress and confusion mortgages can cause.

“Our advertising deliberately and dramatically reflects a lot of that hell. We want people to feel like they’ve stepped away from that when they come to Habito. Our products and services have been described as out of this world. And this definitely feels other-worldly yet designed with anyone who wants to own a home in mind.”

Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon Studio, added, “The founder. Daniel, created Habito to save people from the hell of getting a mortgage. So, when we were creating the Habito experience we wanted to create the most badass version of heaven. Less the trumpets and angels, a more distinctive, euphoric experience.

“We built a new icon, the flying H from the existing brand assets to make the app icon more memorable and distinctive, and evolved the winged keys and the brand aesthetic to be more beautiful, moving and modern.”

Saiman Chow noted, “It’s not often you come across a brand, let alone a financial services company, that wants to put so much thought and detail into creating something truly unique and ground-breaking.”

Habito returned to TV advertising in January 3:

Credits:

Client: Habito
Design Studio: Uncommon
Illustrator: Saiman Chow
Website Build: Habito