Introduction
The goal of this project was to bring clarity and generate attention to Vector, the latest invention by Anki Robotics which is geared towards an older target audience. With Anki already having a successful toy robot on the market named Cosmo, they already had significant brand equity behind them. The problem with this is that the new robot, Vector has the same body as Cosmo just in different colours. This created potential confusion when it came to the branding because Cosmo is more of a toy and Vector is intended to be a companion that learns with his unique and complex AI. The main issue that needed to be addressed was to give Vector his own unique identity by defining his offerings and target audience.
![ROMAN]-05.png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cad011da568273fea1f55b8/1555097328980-PSZ6FOBDZBUX6DYFFZZ4/ROMAN%5D-05.png)
Research
Upon research It was discovered that there are very defined categories of robots.
The home aid device category. This involves products such as, Roomba vacuums, Nest thermostat, and Amazon Echo. The typical price range for such products starts at around $50 and goes into the low $1000’s. The main offering is home automation.
The Toy category. This includes toys like UBTECH Mythical Unicorn, Drones, and the Cue robot. This category’s price range hovers in the low to mid hundreds. The main offerings are in learning how to program or to add a level of excitement to traditional play.
The companion robot/hobby category consists of product like Vector, Alpha 1 Pro, and Sophia. This category has the widest range in price, Vector starts out at $400 and Alpha 1 pro starts at $800. Robots like Sophia, while not yet on the market has millions of dollars being invested into her AI and frame leaving the market price to be determined. The main offering is a companion that lives with you and develops based on your individual needs.
Goals
Thoroughly define Vectors offering and place in the market. Define the tone of voice for marketing Vector as a product.
![ROMAN]-01.png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cad011da568273fea1f55b8/1555097842757-N5PWVYY1M45Q23OL5TWZ/ROMAN%5D-01.png)
Strategy
The name Vector felt like a missed opportunity as it gave no clear direction toward the product. After an extensive number of naming exercises, “Roman” was decided upon because of how he autonomously roams around the house when the user is not engaging directly with him.
*for the rest of this case study I will refer to Vector as Roman*
Solution
Logo: Something that is unique to Roman’s frame is his tank like tracks that are his feet. Such aspects were incorporated into the logo by Roman and his tracks maneuvering through the shape of an R. An initial design constraint that was placed from the outset, was the fact that during the time of this project the robot had not actually been released yet. This prevented me from taking any of my own unique photography so I resorted to an illustrative approach. Doing so was beneficial because the target audience is not only sophisticated but also playful and imaginative.
Type Faces: For short body copy and small details the typeface Space Mono was chosen as a nod to the monospaced type that is used in coding and programming software, this also gave the design an analog feel. I paired Space Mono with Neue Haas Grotesk for larger body copy and headlines in order to balance out the mono
Colors: The two main colours gold and neon green come straight from the two most interactive parts of the robot, his gold sensor and his neon green eyes.
Website: The website continues to incorporate the gold, green, and black with subtle hints of gradients. One of the goals was to highlight Romans various unique offerings. The website is also where the core brand identity shines through.
Design solution for campaign posters: During the research process I found that people were extremely interested in his main offerings, but then were slightly disappointed and caught of guard by how small he is. I decided to solve this problem by addressing those concerns head on in the headlines of the poster by using words like big and small. These posters also feature isometric illustrations to compliment the tone of the mono typeface.