Our Designers Weigh in on Trends in Healthcare Branding

From Jaguar’s divisive new pink logo to Walmart’s “blink and you miss it” changes, commercial and consumer industries approach branding with a trend mentality in mind. But what about healthcare? Unlike some industries that rise and fall, healthcare is a necessity of human life, and its branding is often a reflection of its endurance.

Our graphic designers have some opinions and observations to share when it comes to changes they’ve noticed in healthcare branding across their careers in design.

Anna on Trend Resistance

Healthcare brands have additional challenges, compared to other brands; they do vital work that often leaves no time to consider their visual brand. When healthcare brands do have time to consider branding, it can be hard to know what decisions are right, and what brand position would help them stand out in the crowd.

For all these reasons, I think healthcare brands are more trend-resistant than other industries. Many major healthcare brands have been unchanged for decades, so there isn’t industry pressure to freshen up the look. This means healthcare brands making thoughtful, considered rebrands can really set themselves apart.

All industries right now are tending towards simplicity and healthcare is no different. At the moment, most healthcare brands use a sans-serif font and some color blue in their identity—this is not a new trend, but a persistent one!

Chad on Big vs. Small

I think there is a significant gap between how big healthcare organizations prioritize brand (positioning, management, consistency, etc.) versus smaller healthcare organizations. Obviously, the larger brands have much larger budgets to prioritize branding, but that doesn’t mean it is less important in smaller organizations. Healthcare brands evolve and it’s important that the brand identity is truly reflective of the organization as it stands today.

Shaun on Branding Approaches

It appears branding is becoming more simple and warm. Clean, geometric shapes with rounded edges, bold sans-serif fonts, and spacious layouts are trending across healthcare and other industries. Color palettes feel calmer and more refined. Logos are becoming simpler and more flexible, supporting adaptability across digital platforms like mobile phones and social media.

Healthcare providers approach branding as a means to build trust and reduce anxiety. To do that, they’re reducing clutter and increasing white space, adding calming photography, and developing intuitive navigation. Icons and shapes are inspired by wellness and community: curves for care, for example, and smart grids that suggest order and stability.

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Like in any industry, branding is important, but healthcare branding is a particularly tall order. To Anna’s point, healthcare is often resistant to other branding trends, but to Chad’s, a brand has to reflect the business of today. And to Shaun’s, healthcare design also has to adapt to modern technology and standards of accessibility.

Across the board, branding evolves over time to best appeal to their audience. But healthcare is a necessity for every single one of us, and a healthcare organization’s brand should reflect that.