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When we were shopping for health insurance about a year ago I was dismayed about how bleak the design of that industry really is. Other than some obligatory happy-people photographs everything just feels rather antiseptic. One of the options we were presented as a front-runner was for HIP Health Plan of New York and its design did not instill enough confidence to plunk down more than a thousand dollars. Eventually we went with a provider that had a decent corporate identity and the best coverage. But enough of the set up. Recently the above mentioned provider, HIP, and Group Health Incorporated (GHI) became affiliated under a new parent company, EmblemHealth and have begun a very visible campaign in New York to promote the company.
Detail of print ad. You can see the full ad and others at Bestadsontv.com (free registration to see full scale).
The advertising campaign has been developed by Hill Holiday, and it revolves around using the logo as a patch to create other hand-drawn, line-art shapes, which sometimes works and others it feel forced, but the effect in general is pleasant. Siegel+Gale developed the branding strategy and Interbrand designed the logo. Considering all the different creative groups working on this, the result feels remarkably uncompromising. When you consider identity design for health insurance — with all its blue and aqua hues, and all its shield and cross imagery — this logo for EmblemHealth nicely breaks away from convention with a warm and playful color palette and a simple, abstract icon. What does the icon mean, though? I don’t think it really matters: It’s pretty, it’s authoritative, it looks confident and it’s memorable. I wonder if I had started my health insurance today if I would have given a second thought to HIP.
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Ampersanderson’s comment is:
I returned to New York from a trip to the West Coast about a month ago. One of my least favorite parts of reuniting with the city is the drab array of transit advertising in the subway stations. EmblemHealth was a nice surprise; a clean, elegent but strong mark with clever follow-through. The simplicity of this brand is refreshing. My only complaint is that on the subway posters, people have taken to tearing out the emblem from the ads, leaving a predominantly white space with tidbits of Gotham to decode. Maybe the mark is so well designed, people have to take it home...
On Oct.13.2008 at 07:41 AM
ScottS’s comment is:
First impression: new, fresh, bold, warm, friendly, confident, proud. The color choices command attention, but in a good way. The gradients are subtle and well-executed. I've always loved Avenir, so kudos on the font choice as well.
On Oct.13.2008 at 09:27 AM
Chris’s comment is:
RIP gotham...
On Oct.13.2008 at 09:30 AM
rickyaustin’s comment is:
Emblem Health
The identity that works.
John Mindiola III’s comment is:
Wow, health insurance that makes me feel good, instead of intimidated? Sign me up! In Minneapolis, we have Health Partners, who's also currently running an illustration-based campaign that's refreshing and simple.
On Oct.13.2008 at 09:40 AM
Mike G.’s comment is:
I believe the logo is supposed to be a badge, representing the idea of an emblem.
On Oct.13.2008 at 09:53 AM
Michael T’s comment is:
The one thing that has bothered me about their ad campaign is the TV commercial where the young woman talks about moving into "the tiniest apartment ever" when she's lying around in what appears to be a sprawling living room. I know what a small apartment is. Otherwise, kudos to them for making health insurance interesting.
On Oct.13.2008 at 10:06 AM
JonE.’s comment is:
Mike G. is right. Its a simplified crest, a badge, an emblem, a chevron...which by the way looks a lot like the chevron logo.
The word Emblem looks to be set in Avenir, except the letter E (maybe) and Health looks to be set in Gotham...can anyone confirm?
On Oct.13.2008 at 10:12 AM
Josh’s comment is:
I always enjoy seeing corporations who are willing to allow creativity into their advertising. The logo comes across to me as health care, but the advertising lets it exist in a much more entertaining realm.
On Oct.13.2008 at 10:21 AM
Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:
Very nice.
On Oct.13.2008 at 12:40 PM
David’s comment is:
Those colors are Rad!
Anonymous’s comment is:
I like the mark when paired with the tagline and ad illustrations.
Set by itself, it appears a bit vacuous and unanchored. I expect the shield to come crashing down. And how nice to see a gradient mark that also uses Gotham! We never see either of those...This is a case of the benchmark being set so low by the industry competition, it merely stands out by comparison.
On Oct.13.2008 at 12:49 PM
Matthew Brett’s comment is:
I like the mark when paired with the tagline and ad illustrations.
Set by itself, it appears a bit vacuous and unanchored. I expect the shield to come crashing down. And how nice to see a gradient mark that also uses Gotham! We never see either of those...This is a case of the benchmark being set so low by the industry competition, it merely stands out by comparison.
On Oct.13.2008 at 12:50 PM
Matheus’s comment is:
Lakers + ABN AMRO + Vale = that thing
On Oct.13.2008 at 12:50 PM
dg3’s comment is:
snooze.
On Oct.13.2008 at 01:33 PM
jRod’s comment is:
well executed. i really like the simplicity of the logo itself and the colors somehow represent healthcare without being teal or any other scrub color. Makes me wonder how they pulled that off. Nexium perhaps? The AstraZeneca logo is similar in color scheme as well.
Darrel’s comment is:
I think I have more issues with the tagline. Are there US health care plans that actually work?
On Oct.13.2008 at 04:29 PM
koyo’s comment is:
Love it.
On Oct.13.2008 at 05:25 PM
oscar’s comment is:
For some reason this reminds me of the Chevron ribbon.
On Oct.13.2008 at 05:28 PM
matt’s comment is:
that's right everybody, it's a shield, an emblem, blah blah blah, SEE SAY, how obvious, what about being creative, holy crap, make an abstract logo, abstract people, why so damn obvious all the time...
and yes, it is chevron's logo minus one 'ribbon'
On Oct.13.2008 at 05:57 PM
illusio’s comment is:
I don't see a chevron at but a book. Book = quality member benefits. The mark is pretty decent but the tagline needs more punch.
On Oct.13.2008 at 11:41 PM
Sergie’s comment is:
I like it.... but where is the new Jack in the Box branding?
On Oct.14.2008 at 02:19 AM
Kris’s comment is:
"What does the icon mean, though?"
Well, you know... it's an emblem.
On Oct.14.2008 at 08:51 AM
Armin’s comment is:
The "what does the symbol mean?" comment was sarcastically rhetorical. With every press release embedding meaning into any logo, it was refreshing to not have a "this logo signifies the duality of our patients' needs and our plans' benefits while the purple signifies love and the yellow care" or some other far-fetched idealization.
Sorry it wasn't clear.
On Oct.14.2008 at 09:36 AM
3stila’s comment is:
Somehow, combining heavy + light weight fonts and removing the spacing between words has escaped the cliché pile. I don't even understand why designers do it. Can we say uncle already on this meaningless gimmick?
On Oct.14.2008 at 10:54 AM
mingshi’s comment is:
Would really like to have a version with the elephant and donkey kissing instead!!!
On Oct.14.2008 at 01:24 PM
Harris’s comment is:
The logic behind bolded+thin text:
The bolded part is the unique name of the company, and the thin part is the word that describes what kind of company it is. Perhaps they just want to emphasize the first part.
In some cases, the font weight mismatching makes no sense, but all logo trends have issues with logic.
On Oct.14.2008 at 01:50 PM
yotam’s comment is:
more identity usage in advertising:
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/emblemhealth_news?size=_original
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/emblemhealth_animals?size=_original
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/emblemhealth_rocket
On Oct.14.2008 at 02:48 PM
Paul Riehle’s comment is:
Just to clarify the typeface used... It is in fact, gotham and not avenir.
Most obvious with the lowercase a and t
On Oct.14.2008 at 03:54 PM
Mongoose’s comment is:
Purple and gold. Purple.. and gold.
I really want to hate those colors. They don't belong together except in over-the-top outfits, and even then, not always.
But here, they work in a relatively pleasing whole. The gradients are pleasant and not overly glossy on that chevron. Gotham, the Font Of 2008™, works all right here.. particularly as the emblem reminds me rather of a Batman logo. The off-center position of the logo even works well, I think; in a way it wouldn't if 'Emblem' were stacked atop 'Health'.
I give it an A-. It's a nice enough brand, and as Armin said, the logo doesn't need to have any intrinsic meaning; it's a simple enough emblem for Emblem. and it almost makes purple/gold look good.
On Oct.14.2008 at 04:53 PM
Char’s comment is:
This remind me of .
I hope this comparison contributed to the interaction of this forum.
Andrew Harrington’s comment is:
Gotham strikes again... and again, and again and again.
On Oct.15.2008 at 08:55 AM
Armin’s comment is:
To all Gotham haters: There is a reason Gotham is so prevalent in corporate identity, and it's not because it's a trendy typeface or because designers are lazy and can't pick anything more imaginative (okay, in some cases that might be true). Gotham, like Helvetica before it, has just the right balance of neutrality and personality that allows it to take on any number of "flavors," and serve the overall identity as an anchor where different visual elements can then take a more prominent role. It helps that Gotham is flawlessly constructed and has a dynamic range of weights, widths and now rounded corners. It is the perfect complement to logos that employ icons as it allows those icons to stand out.
It's like saying "Yay, more sheetrock, why does every house need to use sheetrock?".
Hating on Gotham is like hating on Mrs. Eaves and Comic Sans: It's an industry cliche that designers think elevates them to a higher ground of design appreciation by scoffing at their use.
And what are the alternatives, if you want to use a geometric sans, which is a conscious design decision that should be made before choosing a specific typeface? Avenir, Futura, Neutraface, Chalet, Nobel? Those typefaces are equally overused. Nothing wrong with choosing Gotham.
On Oct.15.2008 at 09:20 AM
GC’s comment is:
Gotham, the Font Of 2008™, works all right here.. particularly as the emblem reminds me rather of a Batman logo
Likewise.
On Oct.15.2008 at 02:45 PM
Justin Hill’s comment is:
The logo sort of reminds me of this:
Derrick’s comment is:
I don't understand why people complain about Gotham one minute and a custom typeface the next.
On Oct.17.2008 at 05:19 PM
Chris’s comment is:
I love Gotham. Good points by Armin.
I think some people have just been drinking Gotham-branded Hater-ade.
On Oct.17.2008 at 05:21 PM
Mongoose’s comment is:
Agreed with Armin. I like Gotham, it's a good font and I think we'll see a lot of it, and fonts very close to it, for quite a while.
I still get to be amused at how it's suddenly everywhere. :)
On Oct.23.2008 at 07:42 PM
Mark’s comment is:
reminds me of:
not a bad logo. simple. clean. effective.
Sort of looks like a book.
On Oct.23.2008 at 10:20 PM
Frank Torre’s comment is:
Hello,
I am a New Jersey resident and would like to know if I qualify for your health insurance.My need is for coverage on my wife and I and our 21 year old son who is a college student , if I qualify I need pricing.
Thank You
On Feb.06.2009 at 09:48 PM
Comments in Brand New, V1.0 have been closed.
