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Established in 1957 as The Medical Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts the newly renamed Health Resources in Action has been providing grants for the advancement of public health and medical research. To be honest I had never heard of this organization before — my medical research grant ambitions are rather unambitious — but the new icon definitely caught my attention. There is enough of an abstract story told through it about making connections and the solid bonds created by the grants they make and it is also visually interesting with its unusual angle (it’s not 45°! It’s not 90°!). The muted colors are something you don’t see much of these days either. While I really like the icon, the typography leaves much (much) to be desired, mainly with the tight tracking it has. Certainly the long name does not help, and maybe a in a few years it can be narrowed to its HRIA acronym, which rolls off much better of the tongue than the sentence-like name they chose.
Thanks to Keith Cross for the tip.
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obse.’s comment is:
Hey! Armin started liking things again! Great!
On Jun.18.2009 at 08:10 AM
Felix S’s comment is:
The logotype seems to be like an afterthought instead of a part of a complete signature. Nice symbol, though...
On Jun.18.2009 at 08:49 AM
Sand’s comment is:
I like the symbol on the 45° - it's "in Action" and the typography seems suitable for the application. Nicely done.
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:16 AM
kristen’s comment is:
It is a great logo mark, but I do wish the overall branding was fleshed out a bit more. The logo loses its impact on such a boxy-looking website.
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:35 AM
brian’s comment is:
looks a lot like http://infinamic.com/ but not as cool
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:42 AM
soully’s comment is:
Nice icon, not so crazy about the implementation on the website, seems a little rushed. I don't mind the text though, there's only so much you can do for a name of that length and the choice of typeface isn't a bad one.
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:46 AM
Ryan Gonzalez’s comment is:
It's nice but there's nothing too exciting or commendable about it; the logo is simple and a little different than most, but still too familiar. The type, like Armin said is too compact with the small tracking.
Could be better.
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:46 AM
dexter’s comment is:
Wow! looks like Health Resources, couldn't find an original mark or a designer to create one...
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:54 AM
Mau’s comment is:
I like the shape of the logo. The only thing I'd change is for the color mixes to be techinically correct. "Yellow and blue makes green", for example.
On Jun.18.2009 at 09:54 AM
koyo’s comment is:
Like it.
On Jun.18.2009 at 10:09 AM
jhoysi’s comment is:
I like it, but something feels very familiar about it.
But then, in healthcare, familiarity builds trust.
On Jun.18.2009 at 10:19 AM
Joseph’s comment is:
Brians right that looks alot like that infinamic.com mark
On Jun.18.2009 at 10:39 AM
Kevin’s comment is:
Its okay to "borrow" design ideas... right?
On Jun.18.2009 at 10:43 AM
Kevin Zwirble’s comment is:
I think the mark itself is a great move. Nice color scheme and dynamic sense about it. Although, I think that with most corporate fields, that type treatment is pretty standard. Not groundbreaking and next to or below the mark. It's clean and it works.
On Jun.18.2009 at 10:48 AM
Sand’s comment is:
It's a simple geometric logo. Of course there's going to be hundreds of similar and identical logos. That's the risk that comes with minimalistic geometric logo.
In this particular case, the logo works. It's appropriate for the industry and target market, and it doesn't make your eyes burn.
Maybe it should be Comic Sans... centered!
On Jun.18.2009 at 10:58 AM
Violet’s comment is:
Dexter...
I hate it when people will criticize someone else's work but never mention what THEY would have done "better".
On Jun.18.2009 at 11:12 AM
Violet’s comment is:
LOL Sand's...
bancomicsans.com
Craig Johnson’s comment is:
The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that it fails to really own a main color. It's more of a color palette, which looks nice but is more difficult from a clear branding and customer memory standpoint.
On Jun.18.2009 at 11:46 AM
Dale Campbell’s comment is:
I like it - The text seems a little distant in relationship, but the icon, colors - everything looks great.
Keep well,
Dale
Dennis Van Staalduinen’s comment is:
If anyone from this organization is reading these comments, please:
IGNORE THE BIT ABOUT USING THE ACCRONYM!
Points:
1) the health field has too many as it is,
2) yes the name is long(ish), but it makes a powerful statement. So if you must shorten it in the future, use "Resources in Action" or "Health Resources" as the day-to-day shorthand.
3) If you become HRIA, people new to the organization may want to sound it out... andf this is health care, so put a "gona-" a "dia-" in front of it, or an "N" in the middle, and well, you see where I'm going...
Kaitlin’s comment is:
I agree with Dennis. Not only are there too many acronyms, a lot of them have become redundant. HRIA in my place of work (public health office in Canada)is also a Health Risk Internal Assessment and (externally) the Health Risk Information Association (granted the latter is a working group who decided they wanted an acronym all their own).
On Jun.18.2009 at 12:52 PM
Armin’s comment is:
Good points about the acronym.
On Jun.18.2009 at 01:03 PM
JM’s comment is:
A totally ubiquitous Illustrator doodle.
felix sockwell’s comment is:
its crap. total crap. for once i totally disagree with "Felix S" if that is his real name.
On Jun.18.2009 at 02:35 PM
Altaf’s comment is:
I think it's an excellent variation of the typical healthcare/medical cross symbol
On Jun.18.2009 at 03:14 PM
Matt’s comment is:
although I think the logomark looks good and in action, others have pointed out the problems with the type. I have no problem with borrowing ideas from others, but as long as you make it better than the previous one you are borrowing from. that being said, the officine smeraldo logo in Tres Logos page 88 works a lot better and it at least makes sense for the 4 different colors, it has 4 different sub-brands (maybe there is a reason for the 4 colors and I haven't read about it yet):
and the logo also makes some pretty cool patterns when applied properly...
On Jun.18.2009 at 05:38 PM
Tim Gengler’s comment is:
The first adjective I came up with was 'competent.' It's just a face in the crowd.
Using vague memories in lieu of actual research, I'd say this is what every health care logo looks like. Perhaps if the accompanying typography were done differently, the icon could shine.
With that said, this is an industry where neutrality and comfort are valuable, so I suppose it's well done.
On Jun.18.2009 at 05:55 PM
Trea’s comment is:
I like it, its great.
On Jun.18.2009 at 06:00 PM
Maaike’s comment is:
I like the icon, but those colours... I think I've seen them before.
On Jun.19.2009 at 07:40 AM
Mark’s comment is:
I like the icon it's dynamic.
The typograghy I agree needs inprovement, it just sits there like a stone. It's doing nothing, it needs a little bit more action in it.
HRIA sounds like a good acronym in the future.
Overall it's an improvement, from the very dull previous logo. It just needs a few more improvements to the typeface and it would be perfect.
On Jun.19.2009 at 04:50 PM
jRod’s comment is:
forget the rest of the logo, the icon is absolutely great.
On Jun.22.2009 at 11:25 AM
KEV’s comment is:
what is great about the icon jRod? When commenting on design, its worth elaborating a bit, so we can get a sense of whether or not your opinion is worth while.
On Jun.23.2009 at 03:04 PM
Johnny S’s comment is:
LOVE the icon! So tight, clean and subtle. I like the two shades of green together.
On Jun.23.2009 at 04:22 PM
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