Role: Creative Director
Company: Pacify
Teams: Creative & Marketing (4), Executive Leadership (4), Sales (2), Tech/Development (4), Client Success (3), Clinical (1)
Project: Branding, User Experience, Website Design, App Design, Print & Digital Marketing, Packaging, POS
In November of 2017 I joined growing the telehealth startup Pacify to serve as Creative Director - the company’s first in-house creative expert. Pacify is a 24/7 telehealth app connecting new and expecting parents to on-demand support from natal healthcare professionals nationwide, including pediatric experts and lactation consultants. When I came on board they had a cutting-edge product with proven ROI, but needed a cohesive brand identity, website, and full suite of creative collateral to design multi-channel marketing campaigns and enhance their offering. Our immediate priorities were to conduct a robust brand discovery, build out brand resources, and assemble an in-house creative and marketing team geared toward consumer engagement and corporate client success.
Pacify has since demonstrated 2.5X higher enrollment and 25X greater utilization through new creative brand strategies generating rich content and digital marketing. We have expanded client contracts by 214%, reaching hundreds of thousands more parents through creative enrollment and engagement strategies. The re-brand and new creative & marketing sector were featured as key value-adds in Pacify’s acquisition by Advantia Health in January 2019.
The challenge
A fundamental challenge lay in the unique B2B2C business model that Pacify had adopted; although the app was a consumer product used by new and expecting parents, their mission was to provide this telehealth solution to underserved populations at no cost. This meant partnering with managed care systems, hospital systems, public health and government contractors, and employer maternity benefits programs while still designing enrollment and engagement strategies aimed at our end users - new parents. It was essential we design a dynamic brand identity with a sophisticated creative strategy that would speak to C-suite decision makers with bottom-line budgets, while remaining approachable, relatable, and responsive to the vulnerable sensibilities of our end users.
Our consumer-focused, partner-empowered brand
Through extensive market research, consumer surveying, and in-depth dialogue with partner organizations, we developed a comprehensive solution. Our brand discovery process consisted of:
A team of 6 internal stakeholders representing leadership across company channels (client success, clinical support, and sales & marketing), who were extensively surveyed on brand vision, consumer audiences, partner relations, and our peers and competitors
4 phases of design critiques and refinement, during which we honed from 6 logo options, 5 palettes, 5 typographic combinations, 4 illustrative styles, and 4 photographic directions
Market research surveying over 1000 new and expecting parents in our key demographics across the United States
Client audits with 32 of our existing partner organizations to contribute feedback on designs and brand vision based on their deep expertise and insights into the populations they serve
The results - a versatile brand identity in an ever-evolving industry
My team delivered a cohesive Brand Style Guide outlining precise conventions to inform all multi-channel brand decisions, including print and digital advertising, product packaging, pitch decks, demo videos, app usability, and web design.
This elevated brand identity would further enhance the design of the website itself, aimed at B2B sales on the front end, with subsites housing educational resources for partner staff support and curated content driving member enrollment and engagement toward custom user portals to sign up and download the app.
Click below to visit the Pacify site
A friendly, nurturing logo
The Pacify wordmark is one of two expressions of our brand identity - it is used as the primary signifier representing Pacify the product (mobile app) and Pacify-related collateral (SDK technology, provider networks, collaborations and partnerships, etc.). In place of the wordmark, Pacify’s secondary icon is used to denote the brand in places where brand recognition is already established or assumed.
Both were designed to convey a welcoming, familiar, and approachable brand experience. The wordmark features smooth, looping curves that suggest a personal touch, while the logo icon is reminiscent of both the brand name and the figure of a parent cradling an infant.
In consumer surveys, the words most commonly used to describe our new mark were “calming, welcoming, friendly, and nurturing.” Consumers and partner stakeholders equally noted an aversion to “generic and cold” sans serif options, preferring the flowing, approachable style we landed on. Our logo represents our commitment to providing an empathetic and enjoyable care experience all the new parents we serve.
A soothing palette
We have carefully curated Pacify’s color palette to appeal to the ever-evolving demographic of our users, while communicating the innovation of our mobile platform technology.
In consumer and partner surveys, respondents commented that our palette felt “calming, friendly, harmonious, and gender neutral”. Our users and clients alike stressed the value of brand conventions that don’t make assumptions about gender roles, orientations, or family structures when it comes to accessing equitable healthcare.
Whimsical, relatable illustrations
We use illustration to communicate ideas, visualize data, and tell stories to our users and partners. Pacify’s illustrative style has been crafted to convey a sense of optimism, tranquility, and approachable innovation through the use of geometric shapes, smooth curves, and a soothing color palette. We serve diverse populations across the country and are careful to represent the wide range of demographics in our communities.
Survey respondents felt our new style was “modern, friendly, and inclusive”. Market research and client feedback highlighted the importance of our focus on diversity and representation, noting that our illustrations make even the most daunting healthcare scenarios appear approachable and manageable.
Approachable, inclusive photography
Photography is a vital tool for representing the diverse communities that we serve and communicating the values that drive the Pacify experience. Our photography style is light, relaxed, and approachable, utilizing natural light and a soft focus whenever possible. Photos of users interacting with our product and with each other should feel natural and unassuming. Photos used in Pacify-related collateral communicate calming, nurturing, and optimistic sentiments focused on empathy for the parenting journey. We use soft, organic shapes to complement and accentuate text and images in our various materials, maintaining a calm, soothing aesthetic.
Pacify is now an unmistakable brand, supported by a robust visual vault of resources that enable our cross-functional teams to continually optimize our platform. From our company website, to customized user enrollment subsites, to print and digital advertising, to agile prototypes, to pitch deck templates and beyond, Pacify has evolved into a cohesive brand identity that enables constant innovation in our industry. We have built an internal creative and marketing team from two to four (and growing), who together have designed a new sector of offerings incorporating rich brand content and digital marketing that deliver measurable ROI to our partner organizations.
The Pacify brand is instantly recognizable to our users and partners across channels, empowering our team to achieve our mission - to be the leading provider of virtual, value-based care in maternal and pediatric health.