The best customer experiences don’t happen by accident. They’re intentionally designed.
Pratt Homes wanted to give their homeowners more than a place to choose finishes. They wanted to create a place where people could actually imagine the home they were about to build.
The result was a 3,000-square-foot Design Market in Barrie’s south end — a warm, immersive space created exclusively for Pratt homeowners to explore finishes, discover curated design styles and bring their future home to life.
And because the homeowner experience doesn’t end when the keys are handed over, the space also became home to Pratt’s dedicated Service Lounge, giving customers a familiar place to return for support long after they move in.
Through our Brand Strategy process, we supported them with:
Brand Experience Strategy
Logo Design
Interior and Exterior Design
Visual Brand Identity
Signage
Wall Murals
Label Design
Printed Marketing Materials
The Challenge
Choosing the finishes for a new home should be one of the most exciting parts of the process. But in Pratt’s existing sales environment, limited space meant homeowners were often making those decisions from small samples, swatches and photographs.
It was difficult to see how everything would come together — or to understand just how much could be customized.
Pratt Homes wanted to change that.
They needed more room to showcase the breadth of finishes, upgrades and design possibilities available to their homeowners, while challenging the perception that buying a Pratt home meant settling for standard builder finishes.
From flooring and cabinetry to countertops, fixtures, tile and the smallest finishing details, there was enormous potential to personalize a Pratt home. Customers simply needed a better way to see it.
Our Approach
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We approached the Design Market as a brand experience, not a showroom.
We mapped the homeowner journey from the moment someone walked through the doors: how they would be greeted, where they would sit, what they would see and read, how they would move through the space and how each interaction could build excitement around their future home.
Inspired by the feeling of a small-town market, we developed an environment with its own personality — warm lighting, bench seating, oversized graphics, murals, signage, product labels and messaging woven throughout the experience.
We extended the concept from the exterior of the building all the way through the interior, creating a consistent visual language and transforming thousands of individual samples and finishes into something that felt curated, approachable and inspiring.
Rather than asking homeowners to imagine what a handful of samples might look like together, Pratt could now show them.
Curated design directions helped homeowners explore complete looks and understand how cabinetry, flooring, tile, countertops, fixtures and finishes could work together to create everything from farmhouse to modern, traditional and industrial-inspired homes.
And we didn’t stop at the design appointment.
The adjoining Service Lounge was developed as the next chapter of the Pratt Homes experience. A welcoming, dedicated space where homeowners could return for Tarion, warranty and after-sales support once they had moved into their new home.
The Outcome
What could have been a traditional builder design centre became an experience all its own.
The Pratt Homes Design Market feels more like walking into a beautifully curated retail destination than a sales office. It gives homeowners the space, inspiration and confidence to explore what is possible and make choices that feel distinctly their own.
It also gives Pratt Homes an opportunity to demonstrate the depth of what they can offer. A value-conscious new home can still become a highly personalized, beautifully finished space when homeowners are able to see the possibilities in front of them.
Most importantly, the Design Market extends the Pratt Homes brand beyond the home itself.
From dreaming and designing to moving in and needing support afterward, Pratt created a physical place for every stage of the homeowner journey — proving that a great brand experience isn’t one moment.
It’s every touchpoint along the way.
