Wow! Who built that?

Design Management Journal, Winter 2003 by Blumenthal, Dannielle

The look and feel of products have often been aspects of brand. In this case study, Dannielle Blumenthal demonstrates how this principle is being leveraged by an innovative homebuilder. From the layout of streets to the restoration of local landmarks, from light-filled spaces to inspiring interiors and careful detailing, these high-- end homes have a memorable style that is attracting a growing number of buyers.

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,

Little boxes, little boxes,

Little boxes, all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all look just the same.

- Malvina Reynolds, "Little Boxes," 1962

We've all seen them, the visual equivalent of white paint. Generic-looking houses in generic-looking suburbs, they look as if anyone might have built them and as if they might fit in anywhere.

"I don't create those kinds of places," says Diane Cox Basheer. "Who wants to live in a box?"

Rather, the founder and president of Diane Cox Basheer Communities is-- as HGTV puts it - a "dream builder." Her community and home designs win awards - and sell at a premium-- because they lift people out of generic suburbia and into a vivid, vibrant way of life.

Basheer blends strength and femininity into a uniquely compelling brand of lifestyle. Here, we examine its elements in detail.

A better way

"... the image of a Southern lady, from her soft voice to her trademark dark suits to her tradition of making crab bisque on holidays." - Jackie Friedlander, "New NVBIA [Northern Virginia Building Industry Association] President Leads Expansion Effort," Times Community Newspapers, January 30, 2002.

Diane Cox Basheer, a client of The Brand Consultancy, has been actively involved in the home-building and development industry since 1973. Her six-year-old company builds and develops award-winning luxury communities, primarily in Northern Virginia and Maryland.

A key element of Basheer's personal brand is her unmistakably feminine style. It's all the more striking given that a) she doesn't trade on it-- doesn't mention it, doesn't use it, doesn't even think about it as a distinct trait; and b) the building industry is heavily dominated by men. "It's not about being a woman," she says. "It's about being a whole person. Feelings and family are an integral part of why people buy homes in the first place."

Nevertheless, Basheer's mode of action exemplifies a special kind of femininity, which has been called "cultural feminism" - a belief in "women's special qualities, women's ways, and women's experiences."1 In her business practices, which have resulted in not only stunning financial success but industry awards, as well, Basheer lives the cultural feminist notion that "the 'woman's way' is the better way."

This orientation is visible in Basheer herself. She cultivates an extraordinarily elegant, ladylike look, and a soft-spoken demeanor. It's a persona that is regal but not untouchable, very much in the tradition of first ladies Laura Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Looking at her, one sees the spirit of Rosie the Riveter - "We can do it!" - in action. The perception is wise, practical, caring - and, not incidentally, very American, as well.

Second, Basheer clearly favors the traditionally feminine relational style of cooperation over competition. Rather than seek to "own" all aspects of her projects, Basheer routinely conducts business through best-of-breed style partnerships such as Basheer & Edgemoore, an "alliance of affiliates" with local homebuilder Edgemoore Homes (The term alliance of affiliates means they work together on homebuilding and development projects, with limited liability for each partner.) Basheer partners so well, so often, and so strongly that she resists being boxed into one particular part of the process. "I have a strong idea," she says, "but I am not an architect, nor strictly a builder, nor just a developer. I am more like a facilitator, because it is so important to me to bring talented people together to realize the idea. Without my partners, I could never hope to see the vision through to reality." In short, in Basheer's mind, success is always a team effort, never solely an individual accomplishment.

A belief in cooperation has also led Basheer to emphasize local ties through extensive involvement in civic activities. Recently elected president of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, she is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on its residential council. Basheer has also served on the board of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance. Further, she is a member of and co-- sponsors the annual leadership conference for the Executive Board of The Women's Center, a Virginia nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable counseling, education, information, and referral services to clients (without regard to gender). Basheer's relational emphasis is also visible in her perspective on homebuyers. She views them not so much as individuals as in terms of their ties to others. Consequently, she disdains the idea of lengthy work commutes, and prefers to build homes on "infill" sites closer to the areas where people actually work. (The term "infill" refers to an area where roads and infrastructure already exist, so that the function of the builder is merely to "fill in" the allotted space with a new housing community.)