Development of a brand book for a children’s clinic
This case study presents our experience in creating and designing a brand book for a client, namely, a children’s state polyclinic.
Everyone knows firsthand how important the visual component is. And when people see disparate elements instead of a coherent communication, there is dissonance, misunderstanding of the concept and values of the medical institution that it wants to convey to the audience.
Our client had a lot of work in progress, but it didn’t fit together. Two versions of the logo, different fonts, different colors, and other elements. That is, there was no full-fledged brand book.
Introduction
One of our clients once asked us a question: “What is the most important thing in a brand book?”. As trite as it may sound, the answer is categorical – everything!
The basis, of course, is the logo, fonts, colors, and key elements. But their presence alone is not enough.
A brand book is a kind of company’s Bible that all employees should follow. It covers not only brand symbols and attributes and the rules for their use, but also additional elements, the basics of positioning, and helps to reveal the main brand message.
Development of a brand book. Development of the design system
The brand book of the children’s polyclinic totaled more than 100 pages.
How did we start our work?
The logo
First of all, we worked on the logo. When developing it, we took everything into account: the main logo, indents, standard layout, various variations of use (horizontal, vertical, font, symbol).
As a result, we got the following Compass logo:
For a better understanding of the changes, we show the evolution of logos since 2017 (the first logo of a government agency):
Modernization of the symbol:
An important aspect of working with the logo was the development of logos for Compass projects and divisions. Several options were proposed to follow the hierarchy.
Initially, we considered the option of “direct identification with the brand”.
In this case, only the name in the logo font was changed.
However, to improve identification, emphasize the importance and individuality of the projects, a more optimal solution was eventually found and approved – a logo with the addition of icons:
The use of logos in white color is also taken into account. For example, the use of icons:
A logo was developed for the Early Intervention Center division, as this sub-brand is registered separately. In this regard, the colors of the Center’s sub-brand were added to the approved brand colors. This is the only exception to the color usage rules.
Colors
The main color is the blue corporate color.
Additional colors are also needed for visual design. Since the clinic is for children, we added additional “cheerful” colors in addition to the main ones:
Fonts
The fonts were determined. Comfortaa was chosen as the main corporate font for headlines. Open Sans was chosen as an auxiliary font for large text blocks.
Patterns
Patterns are based on the use of a segment:
Patterns were identified, examples of their use were given, and rules for them were carefully written.
The main elements
An important labor-intensive stage was the development of various elements of the corporate identity. We created visualizations: social media design, post templates, website design, business cards, badges, booklets, flyers, notebooks, folders, souvenirs (balls, cups, etc.), options for outdoor advertising, and building facades (signage).
The concepts of medical uniforms, additional clothing items, and gift T-shirts were proposed for further use.
For the medical uniforms of employees, color differentiation was provided (doctors, nurses, laboratory staff; cleaning staff was separated). A minimalist, simple design was chosen for children’s T-shirts, T-shirts, and T-shirts for unofficial employee activities (sports competitions, unofficial events, etc.): the logo, short phrases, and Compass characters.
Characters
Since the clinic is a children’s clinic, it was decided to develop Compass characters – characters for a children’s clinic that can be used in all types of communication with children.
The giraffe was chosen because it evokes strong positive associations among children and is a kind, positive animal in all cartoons, encyclopedias, etc. From the point of view of functionality and usability, its parameters and long neck allow you to place text and “play” with the animal’s poses.
Later, a whole series with this character was developed for the clinic’s calendar, and a Compass sticker pack with a cute and emotional Giraffe was created.
The calendar for 2022 was very popular with both the partners and employees of the medical center, who received a real calendar, and social media users who saw the giraffe in a New Year’s Eve post:
Meanwhile, the Compass sticker pack is available for use here: Stickerpack
Another Compass hero is a hedgehog. It has been used in the clinic before – there is a “hedgehog family house” in the branch at 32a Knyazya Yaroslava Mudrogo Avenue.
Therefore, the hedgehog was also chosen as a Compass character.
We couldn’t decide on the last character to form the trio of the clinic’s heroes for a long time. In the end, we settled on a panther. The choice is due to the fact that this animal perfectly complements the team of heroes in terms of size and pattern, which organically fits as spots on the animal’s body.
Navigation
The navigation system helps to navigate the building of the medical institution and cheers up the children. Thanks to signs and pointers, the direction of movement is clear without unnecessary words.
Bright characters break up the monotony of hospital corridors. Animals can be seen from afar, they take funny poses, smile and talk to patients. The characters help you remember the layout and make it easy to find the right room when you return to the hospital.
As part of the navigation, we
- Use color identification of floors.
Signs near the offices retain the color identification of the floor. At corridor forks, it is convenient to use additional signs with arrows. On the second floor, there is a debriefing sign, but with offices only on the second floor and arrows.
- We use our characters to brighten up the visit to the clinic for children.
The character can be played with. The main thing is that he maintains natural poses as for a cartoon character.
An example of visualization using signs and a Giraffe:
Website
Design and development of the website is a large layer of work that took more than 3 months. We created prototypes, wrote texts, worked on the design and layout, and developed the site.
The site can be viewed here.
Now it has a modern, interesting look and provides all the necessary information to users.
Social networks
The visual design of social networks was a striking creative process. We won’t talk about it for a long time – it’s better to see once than hear five times.
We always come up with posts on Instagram and Facebook with a lot of heart and together with the clinic’s communications department.
In turn, we also work with YouTube. It includes: shooting and editing videos, posting them on the channel, maintaining the channel, designing the YouTube channel, and working on playlist covers and video covers.
Other elements
- Template for a presentation with different slide formats (text only, text + image, image with caption, numbers)
- Exterior design, signage
- The posters
- Branding of cars (Compass cars)
- Roll Up with the development of the Compass mission and values
A final word
Like a person, every company must have its unique corporate identity to stand out in the market successfully. Every detail is important, and every element of the brand book is needed.
We have extensive experience in developing brand books for clients – all of them are not alike. They are united by only one thing – well-thought-out, beautiful visualization and effective implementation.
