The Maestro Project

I like the idea of using a smile in the logo. It has to be subtle, but something you get on second glance. For that, I think using a serif font might be necessary. Or maybe even not. I shall have to test that out.
Here is just the first set I have executed, it needs to be ironed out some.




For this idea, I feel like the 'm' needs to be something distinct so that the inside can be filled with different patterns or textures, depending on which way the company branches out, and the logo will still be applicable to it.
Over here, it's bubbles because that's what steam in steam cookers generate. I have tried out different kinds of bubbles, some with a little opacity, some with none.
I think a fully lower case font makes it less formal and more approachable in this case. Which is what the company aims for.




Here are a couple of ideas/executions that aren't quite there yet.
I like the first 'M' I like how friendly, and round it is. It might actually work with the look the brand is trying to go for. (friendly, affordable etc)
The second option is where I am trying to get the 'electric plug' idea to come across, I'm not sure how much it does right now but if I could get it to look just right, with a fitting font, I feel it might work.

So the words most common were- convenience, electricity, easy to use etc.

When asked to describe a home appliance

Maestro wants to be portrayed as an appliance brand that is user friendly. That their after sales service, will not let their consumer down, and that the customer-dealer relationship doesn't just end at the store.
I have some ideas brewing in my mind as to how I can use this in my branding, but I must admit I'm still a little stuck about how to proceed. How can I SHOW appliances in a logo, how do I put all this across...

I have been going through the book- Design Matters// LOGOS by Rockport publishers.




If I have been a little stuck about what next, this book has certainly held my hand and shown me the way, so to speak.
I have been making some notes on points I'd like to keep in mind while designing the logo. And here they are. If they are a bit jumbled or repetitive, excuse me.


Just like ancient ancestors communicated through visual icons, modern brands speak to customers through imagery.

Visual icons communicate basically and directly which is perfect for branding, when the goal is to convey a message with minimum time or strain on the audience. Logo design, however, is about cutting the message to the quick.

Logos send messages of all sorts to mixed audiences. They shorten the communication of a complex statement to something simple, clear and concise. They replace written language when audiences don’t have the time or will to read.
A logo design visually represents brands in market places. The result should be a logo design that not only translates the brand but also does it quickly and memorably for the audience.

A logo is a powerful weapon. It can boost consumer perception, it can boost internal perception. What the logo cannot do is actually make the company great. It can and should be the flag that signals brand change. An example of this is the amazingly effective pull of McDonalds.

The logo is a flag. The guts of a brand reside in the consistent qualities and values of the people in the organization.

Logos are more important than ever, because they make sure the brand is still connected to the story. In a world where intergrated marketing communications are trampling advertising’s outmoded methods, logos are an essential linking agent.
Consumer brands speak through advertising, the internet and packaging.

If branding was a book, a logo would be the cover. If your logo is speaking to an audience, what is it saying? What do the colours say about the brand? What does the shape say? What does the type say? All these pieces come together and speak in a visual language about your brand.

The 3 elements of understanding any market place-
People
The kind of people that buy into the product, the kind of people you would WANT to buy into the product.
Objects
What is this object and brand about, how is it different from the others?
Culture
Includes belief systems, history and past patterns of behaviour that are glue holding objects and people together.

Since I am going to be branding MAESTRO, as the main brand, and 'multicooker' is going to be the sub brand, I have been really confused as to how I am going to do the 2 parts. I know that they (the clients) want Maestro to be prominent because they are thinking of branching out into other appliances in the future.
But I can denote all the things the steamer stands from in the sub brand, which is multi-cooker. That is as of now, left up to me to choose how I'd like to deal with it.
Do I just work on Maestro options first? Or do I work on both of them together? I'm not sure. I have a few ideas 'steaming' through my mind.
But first I need to get their brand architecture in place. And I hope to have a moodboard up on the multicooker as well.
Also, I'd like to thank Design Matters. =P

Here is an estimate time line to help me get organized.
I have had a sit down with my clients and I know what they're looking for. As they've already said, their aim is to promote the concept of steam cooking through their product. Some other points were brought up too, which I shall put into my mood board, but for now I am researching a bit more on branding.
What do designers have to say about branding, how do they go about it? How DO concepts work? What do you look for?

So many questions and I have my work cut out for me. To the books!

From the survey of about 20 people, I can say that most of Maestro's customers, are above the age of 46, mostly home makers, and female.



77% of them found out about the Maestro through friends and relatives. And below are their reasons for purchasing the Maestro, as well as what they use it for.




As you can see, the highest rated reason is because they know steam cooking is the healthier way of cooking. When asked what features they liked the most here are the top four-
1.Food is cooked in a healthy way, retaining nutrients
2.Does not need constant supervision
3.Taste and texture of food cooked
4.Reheating of food

These answers give me and idea and direction as to what sells about the product, and what makes customers choose it over the others.

The final question asked was-



Saving gas is becoming increasingly important, especially with the talks about raising gas prices, and offering subsidized prices only on a limited number of cylinders provided to households per year.

For further information on that, please see- http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?BV_ID=@@@&contentType=EDITORIAL§ionName=TheWeek%20Business&programId=1073754899&contentId=9746335

The total number of people that answered this questionnaire were 86 in number, I sent this survey out to as many people as I could, and asked them to send it to more people they might know. Aiming to get results from a mixed bag of people, which I think I achieved.

Here are the kinds of people that responded.




From the below graph we can see that the most important thing people want from their cooking appliance is Healthy food, as well as food that tastes good. Secondary is unattended cooking along with the price of the appliance, which apparently, isn't so important.



Here is their perception of a steam cooker... A majority of them feel like it retains the nutrients of the food, as well as is a more cost effective way of cooking.
However they still feel like the gas stove is the most economical to use.







And here are some final questions



Surprisingly now-a-days people would rather shop online (14%) as opposed to going to a dealer outlet (10.5%).
The information I have gathered from this survey gives me a better idea of what customers are looking for when they go shopping for an appliance, as well as what healthy, economical cooking is to them.
I have a feeling that most of them are still not aware of steam cookers and how they are different from rice cookers.

I visited a few stores to find out what sort of appliances they keep and if any of them are multi-steam cookers.
I didn't find any multi steam cookers, but I did find many rice cookers with similar functions. Except of course it can't do everything a steamcooker can. I could make your rice, and at the max you can make your dal in it. But you cannot steam cook your vegetables or meat.

Of the packaging and shelf display I saw, I really liked Philip's packaging. Their work was simple, with as little body copy as possible, so that everything wasn't jumping out at you all at once.
Here are some pictures I managed to get (with a salesman baring down my back as they normally do at all stores)





These were the rice cookers on display.
The Morphy Richards, rice cooker had the keep warm facility, and was priced at Rs. 1390. The Koryo rice cooker is priced at Rs.1999. Although the prices seem reasonable enough, these appliances cannot do half the things the Maestro does, and let's not forget the how much more economical the Maestro is to use.
Even though the keep warm facility sounds great in the rice cookers, it tends to make the food drier, and uses up extra electricity. Plus the heat is not evenly distributed as it is in steam cookers.

There are many steam cookers that are being sold in the market. More so online than in shops. I will get to the shops in a bit.
The steam cookers sold online are of many kinds, some are even made of plastic. However, I chose to compare the ones that are similar to the Maestro.
As you can see, all of them are made of stainless steel. However only the Maestro has the double walled stainless steel technology. Which would mean that the steam has an effective passage to travel through, cooking the food from the inside.
Another thing is that these steamers run on 300 watts, which would mean it takes longer for the food to cook. Because the Maestro uses 600 watts, it cooks food in half the time, and as effectively, using as little energy as possible.

Dueteous and Libra are Indian brands, the last cooker in the column, Zhongshan Baibang, is of Chinese make, and as you can see, it consumes the most amount of electricity. That can't be good.
I have been trying to find the prices of these different makes, but their websites strangely do not provide it.
I found these details on online shopping websites like indiamart.com and alibaba.com

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=r26lbs4tpnjkp6m946794

This time, the survey was for the Users of the Maestro. The company does not have many customers email IDs, but what they did have was people's phone numbers. It is good that I got to speak to so many of the customers, because I got better idea of what they liked about the product. One lady was so happy to talk to me (as I represented the product) we had a nice long chatty session for almost half an hour about her views on the product. Sure she tried to be as critical as possible... but it's safe to say the likes out weighed the 'could be improved' points.
So far, the responses to the survey itself, haven't been too many, but I hope I get enough soon.
While thinking up this survey, one of my main concerns was, that I should be able to get the information that I need with as few questions as possible, no one likes a long survey.
What I wanted to know was basically what attracted these customers to the product. A lot of people I spoke to, said that they absolutely love the product. They said they wish more people would use it, and some of them had referred the product, to as many as 10-20 new customers.
I can tell that right now, a lot of awareness of the product is through word of mouth.

I can't help but feel, that most people don't want to accept this change that Maestro helps bring about. Even though they SAY they would change their way of cooking if it was healthier, I am not sure how many people would actually DO it.
I say this because, I have spoken to people who have been given this product as a gift, but still haven't used it. For whatever reason. They have been TOLD it's healthier from themselves and their families... yet they do not want to change their ways.
I feel like the change has to come from within. Sometimes being handed a tool to a healthier life on a silver platter just isn't enough. It would be a real challenge to get these people to use this product and SEE the benefits from themselves. Until they do, they just won't know...

Also from the results of the previous survey so far, I am not completely sure people understand the concept of steam cooking, they tend to mix it up with rice cookers and what the rice cooker can do.
The insights from the user survey will give me a good idea of what the customers think is the USP of the product, and that will help me think of ways to bring it across in the identity.
At this point though I still feel like the concept of steam cooking really needs to come across.

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=ci6jjvpk1x4t000946327

My first survey is up and running. I have already got quite a few responses!
Of course now that I keep going through it, I wish there were more questions I could ask.
But this information is definitely going to help me decide the selling points I should concentrate on when I work on the identity.
Next I am going to talk to the existing Maestro users, and see what they have to say about the product, what THEY think the product's USP is.
It's going to involve a lot of phone calls and hopefully that survey will have as many responses as this one. On to the next!

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com




Jamie Oliver, a well known chief from Sussex, England encourages people to start eating healthy, young.
Obesity is one of the highest causes of death in America. This unhealthy junk food/fast food trend is not only posing as a threat there, he says this is a problem even India is facing. People need to know how to cook, and how to cook healthy. Unhealthy food, like he says in this video, is reducing the life expectancy of people, if this unhealthy eating habit continues, the next generation will live for 10 years less that our previous generation.

Talks like these are making people more aware of their cooking habits, making them more conscious of what they eat and feed their families.
As you can see, healthy cooking is not a trend, it is a necessity.

From the information I found, I gathered that the concept of steam cooking is not new, it is also one of the best forms of cooking.
This kind of cooking helps retain the maximum amount of nutrients and antioxidants in the food. Because there is no direct contact with the heat, and the steam travels through out the vessel, heating the food through and through, fewer nutrients are lost.
I'm not sure how many people know about these many benefits of steam cooking. This is why I want to send out a survey, to find out a little more about what people want from their daily diet, their cooking appliances as well as how aware they are of this concept of cooking.