Pictured above: Dr Nome Sciocco outside the Acquazzoni
Institute with Intatec's new brand concept
Anti-scald shower specialist Intatec, based at Hixon Airfield
Industrial Estate, has commissioned an urgent overhaul of its logo,
after a study by Italian branding guru Dr Nome Sciocco revealed
that the colour red may not always be the best choice for
businesses involved in hot water.
Dr Sciocco, works with the Acquazzoni Institute and is renowned
for her work in the emotion and symbolism of colour. She said: "Red
is always for passion, not necessarily always for danger, but I can
see what Intatec has done, linking the danger of hot water with the
colour red. My research showed that they should link their name
with control, not just with danger."
During early 2011 research team held a series of workshops and
focus groups, looking at the perceptions of Intatec as a company,
its products and colour associations. The focus groups had
representatives from architects, plumbers' merchants and bathroom
installers. To keep excellence and control in showering at the
forefront, the groups met at venues across the UK renowned for the
quality of their bathrooms.
Proving uncharacteristically shy about the source of her
inspiration, Dr Sciocco presented a colour palette that
included the original red, some alternative blues, a green and
white. She denied these choices had any link with teams taking part
in the 6 Nations rugby tournament.
The colour selection was revealed to an excited board meeting by
decision expert Professor Hobson, who heads the Acquazzoni
Institute.
Intatec's managing director, Stuart Gizzi said: "It's been a
rainbow rollercoaster. We were desperate to know whether our colour
selections undermined or empowered our message. Professor Hobson
presented a convincing argument for change. The clear but shocking
conclusion is that no single colour conveyed everything that we
needed, so going with Hobson's choice, we have decided to literally
cascade each of the suggested colours throughout the year, coming
back to the original red in time for Christmas."