Methven employed Graphic Design Council to revise their brand identity, logo design, product naming and website for greater penetration into the Global market.
Methven had a comprehensive brand strategy to enable their growth into european markets.
Methven brand identity logo web product naming design
The Problem
In 2002 Methven tapware, one of New zealand's oldest companies went through a management buyout. the new team were young, energetic and focused on making a difference through design excellence. their brand had been around for what seemed forever (and in New Zealand terms, exactly that) how do you take a ma and pa kettle brand and revive it to bring it into the new century?
Methven had engaged one of Australasia's pre-eminent design organisations (name witheld to protect the innocent) to formulate a revised brand identity and design strategy and spent at least 12 months and generous funds to do so... but something was wrong. The new team could feel it and weren't convinced in the solutions provided. I was approached to offer an objective critique of the design to date. Running the revised design through my analysis system. I informed in the most impartial manner that the new design sytsem as presented was flawed and failed to answer some of the fundamental drivers for change. As a consequence, I was asked to forward some design solutions poste haste to provide a balance point in order to make clear decisions for future direction.
The Solution.
In deference to the proposed system, I advocated a simplified design hierarchy, indeed, the core brand was not necessarily in need of change (dated though it was). instead, I formulated a strategic layering of Methvem's products into designer and mainstream groupings to satisfy the need to generate interest in the high end design led side of the market without alieneating the core markets of the company. A clear set of images and propositions were formulated to match the various market groups and a low end 'battle brand' was produced to combat the cheap import threats. this was a stand alone brand and designed to have no impact on the value of the core Methven brand.
Part of Methven's strategy was an acquisition process to give access to international markets, the brand needed to convey a clear point of difference against some of their major competitors, should the brand be 'international' or should it carry the fresh thinking of the pure new pacific world, unencumbered by traditional patterns of engineering thinking.
The Outcome
To come...
