On Hedcut and Doodles

by Bethany Stephens

This article was written earlier in Bethany Stephens' career, prior to her move to REAL Brokerage / Rêve Real Estate NWA. It's kept here as part of her ongoing content library.

Ever heard of hedcut?

It's a drawing - often of a person's head and shoulders - made primarily of dots and lines. You're most likely to be familiar with it from - well, paper money that we once exchanged regularly, or if you've ever glanced at the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

I knew someone in a past job who was riveted by hedcut portraiture, and that led me across an article several years ago about hedcut portraits in the WSJ, how they're made and how AI technology was reinventing the craft.

If you're prone to going down curiosity rabbit holes as I am, the article above is a fun read featuring Grumpy Cat and a handful of celebrities, and it will lead you to a spot where you can create a hedcut of yourself if you're a WSJ subscriber (even free, I think)!

So what's that got to do with real estate?

Stick with me.

You're familiar with Google Doodles, right? They're the fun iterations in the Google search bar - also a fun back story.

Well... each day when I log onto our excellent global platform (full of tools to serve our clients, market our listings and otherwise thrive in a world of mostly mediocre real estate brands), one of my simple pleasures is seeing the latest doodle.

From a snowy, winter cabin with smoke billowing from the chimney to a skier navigating a steep slope, these cheerful animations always make me smile.