Mamma Mia!

A research project on Italianness to give an Italian soul to a Chinese bike brand.

Design Research
Visual Exploration

Customer: Boyce (China)
In partnership with: Mindd

The challenge: define the imaginary

A brand is much more than a logo: it is a universe of values, visions and references that must be recognizable and consistent

Boyce — a Chinese bike company — asked us to study how to characterize a new high-end bicycle brand with an identity inspired by Italy.
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The first step of the project was to analyze what makes an Italian brand, both from our point of view and from that of the Asian market, exploring perceptions, expectations and even some stereotypes.

Competitor analysis

Defining an identity also means understanding where to position oneself in the market, so we have studied multiple reference brands and defined a perception matrix

The analysis of the corporate image, website, social media (both Western and Asian), photographic style and design of the product range of 15 brands has allowed us to map their values and positioning with respect to different targets.

The result was a perception matrix to help the Boyce team identify how to characterize the new brand. This matrix was used to analyze competitors and references and, subsequently, to develop the first design directions.

Define the imaginary

A brand is not defined only by the label “Made in Italy”: when people buy a product they share its value system and imagination

To translate all this into a clear and recognizable visual identity, we worked with Mindd to create 7 video-moodboards — each with a different interpretation of Italianness — to inspire the Boyce team on possible creative directions.

Conclusions

Our analysis and research path has provided Boyce with a more in-depth and strategic vision of the meaning of “Italian brand” in the bike sector and its many facets. But, above all, it has prepared the basis for the future development of the new brand, which will be able to express its Italianness in an authentic and distinctive way.