The brand identity is one of the most visible aspects of your brand. It’s also one of the most efficient ways of communicating the brand essence. But it’s not just a nicely designed mark.

When we say “identity,” we mean the entire visual expression—mark, color and graphic language. When executed well, an identity is a workhorse: it telegraphs the brand position, evokes emotion, tells a story and generates consumer awareness.

Reflect the brand position
As all aspects of a unified brand should, the identity flows
from the brand position. This ensures your identity is strategically in alignment with the brand, and reflecting what it uniquely stands for.

The new identity we developed for Rosecrance, an addiction treatment center, was part of a comprehensive brand repositioning. The mark, color palette and graphic language were strategically chosen to effectively capture the spirit of their new brand position: Rosecrance = the best opportunity for lasting recovery (see below).

Anatomy of the Rosecrance identity

Mark: Upward movement of the graphic represents a new day;
life continuing.

Color palette: Bright colors are positive and energetic.

Typography: All lowercase, sans serif type is friendly and approachable.

Tagline: The identity also captures the emotion of “Life’s waiting,” the tagline we developed for Rosecrance as part of the new brand position.

Evoke emotion
A brand identity should also make the audience feel something about the brand—things like confidence, optimism or a sense of connectedness. Achieving this requires understanding the mindset of your target audience—what matters to them, what they value, what resonates with them—and then translating it into a visual expression.

Tell a story
An identity can also symbolize or represent something meaningful to an audience. For Remedy client Sparrow Health System, a new identity and brand architecture signaled a new promising chapter for the organization. With its many locations and disparate affiliate brands, it was important that the new
Sparrow identity convey a unified organization to internal and external audiences. The design we developed featured interlocking rings, representing the energetic movement of the organization banding together (see below).

Anatomy of the Sparrow identity

Mark: The interlocking rings symbolize the energetic movement of multiple parts coming together. The rings also create an abstract “S” and stand for service and strength.

Color palette: The vibrant green signifies health and growth, freshness and renewal. The darker tones lend a sense of grounding and strength.

Typography: The sans serif typeface is friendly and welcoming.

Managing your identity
When an identity system is applied consistently—from facility branding (see our work for Swedish Covenant Hospital) to business papers to advertising—it creates a stronger and more cohesive impression of the brand and increases consumer brand recognition.

Here are three ways you can maintain the integrity of your brand’s identity:

		Educate your staff During identity implementation, spend time educating internal audiences as to why a consistently presented identity is important to the brand and business. Help staff across the organization understand they are ambassadors of the brand and have a responsibility for protecting the way the brand identity is applied.
		Identity management site Part of your brand standards should include clear rules for appropriate identity usage. Make these guidelines easy to access and update by creating an identity management intranet. This tool enables staff to review identity dos and don’ts, download approved logo artwork or templates, and submit questions and requests.
		Training sessions Conduct identity training sessions with key internal and external stakeholders who routinely create branded materials—not just marketing staff, but also administrative staff who create highly visible presentations for the C-suite, and vendors who routinely develop materials with the identity. Our experience is that the more people who are in the know about how and why to use the identity in the approved ways, the more successful the long-term management effort.

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The new identity Remedy developed for Rosecrance conveys a sense of positive
energy that stands out from the competition.

For years, Remedy client Sparrow had maintained dozens of different logos (see above). In addition to the identity, Remedy created a new brand architecture that reflects a strong, unified organization.

View the brand architecture