Sothebys International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty is arguably one of the world’s finest property brands and approached Felix&Friends to review and update its digital design to create a new vision for the global brand in a group of territories. Sotheby’s International Realty approached Felix&Friends for their new launches in London and Dubai.
Felix&Friends was commissioned to deliver comprehensive user experience design, information architecture and a bespoke headless CMS build for sothebysrealty.co.uk, creating a digital platform worthy of a brand synonymous with exceptional properties and discerning high-net-worth clients. The brief required for Sotheby's International Realty required a complete digital transformation that honoured their heritage whilst establishing new benchmarks for luxury property presentation online.
The challenge lay in balancing multiple commercial imperatives. The platform needed to showcase luxury properties with the sophistication expected by ultra-affluent buyers, whilst providing intuitive navigation for varied audiences from international investors to local purchasers. Information architecture required meticulous consideration: how does one present prime London real estate alongside Dubai developments without diluting brand coherence? How can property search functionality remain refined yet powerful? Felix&Friends developed a strategic framework that prioritised clarity without compromising elegance, ensuring the user experience felt effortless regardless of search complexity.
Typography, spacing and image presentation require calibration that allows each property to breathe whilst maintaining navigational clarity. Felix&Friends crafted a design language that defers to property imagery, using restrained typography and considered white space to create galleries rather than listings. The result feels curated, intentional and unmistakably premium, reflecting the calibre of properties featured from Mayfair penthouses to Dubai waterfront residences.
A new vision of the design language, UX and information architecture was required to ensure the new site displayed properties and content effectively, created better SEO opportunities for the brand and navigation intuitive.
The technical foundation proved equally critical. Felix&Friends implemented a headless CMS architecture, separating content management from presentation layer to provide Sotheby's International Realty with flexibility, performance and future scalability. This approach enables rapid content updates, seamless integration with property management systems and the agility to adapt as luxury real estate markets evolve. Performance optimisation ensures the platform loads swiftly even with extensive high-resolution property photography, recognising that ultra-high-net-worth individuals expect technical excellence to match visual refinement.
Strategic SEO considerations informed every development decision. Felix&Friends structured content architecture to maximise search visibility for luxury property keywords whilst maintaining the sophisticated user experience luxury brands demand. Property pages, location landing pages and editorial content were optimised to strengthen Sotheby's International Realty's authority within competitive luxury real estate search results, ensuring the platform attracts qualified buyers actively seeking premium properties in key markets.
The outcome establishes new standards for luxury property presentation online. Sotheby's International Realty now possesses a digital platform that functions as both marketing tool and sales enablement system, serving international property buyers, local clients and the internal sales teams with equal effectiveness. Felix&Friends delivered not simply a website redesign, but a comprehensive digital ecosystem that reinforces Sotheby's International Realty's position as the definitive destination for luxury real estate in London, Dubai and beyond. The platform demonstrates that sophisticated design, intuitive functionality and technical excellence need not exist in tension but can converge to create digital experiences worthy of the world's finest properties.