Behind the Design: The Evolution of the Orlando Health Logo
Orlando Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in Central Florida, comprising more than 2,200 beds and over 110 facilities. The existence of this healthcare giant has been supported by a strong brand that has managed to endure over the years. However, the success of Orlando Health’s brand identity is not just a product of chance. Behind the scenes, a lot of research, creativity, and emotion went into the process of designing the healthcare behemoth’s logo.
Initial Design Challenges
In 1918, Orlando’s first hospital was established as Orange General Hospital. Since then, the institution has undergone various name changes, mergers, and acquisitions. In 1985 the hospital changed its name to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Despite garnering significant success and growth over the years, it lacked a concrete brand identity that could serve as an industry leader.
By 2006, Orlando Regional Medical Center began to contemplate a brand refresh, as its initial logo had become outmoded. The organization’s leaders knew that branding was of utmost importance and embarked on a rebranding journey. The challenge faced was for the logo to represent the new modern and innovative brand as they became a prominent organization in the healthcare industry.
Understanding the Orlando Health Brand
In the rebranding process, Orlando Health’s team did not just consider the healthcare organization itself. Instead, efforts were made to recognize the company’s competitors, share their values, patients, and the community it served. This method enabled the organization to realize what would make them stand out in the market.
The resulting logo needed to represent Orlando Health’s transformation from a group of hospitals to a statewide leader, embracing innovation and advanced technology. The newly created logo would embody the organization’s identity and what it stood for.
The Symbolic Meaning in the Orlando Health Logo
The new Orlando Health logo, formed through research, brainstorming, and drafting, is composed of radiating green triangles and a blue cross. The cross is a symbol that represented healthcare for a very long time. The triangles were installed to represent the organization’s multiple facilities throughout the state.
Using contrasting colors including bolding the blue color used in the cross, the new Orlando Health logo had a visual stance and communicated its values. The blue cross was retained because it had been representative of the hospital since its inception. Radiating triangles were used to emphasize the different facilities’ expansion after many mergers.
The New Evolution of Orlando’s Logo in 2021
Orlando Health updated its brand identity again in 2021, to modernize and updated its image. As part of the process, it shifted its font, refined the logo’s size and colors, and improved it for digital communication.
The brand’s new focus was on words closely tied to healthcare, such as “Live well” and “Health for all,” emphasizing the emphasis on the patients. These words are used in its branding and reinforce and provide the brand’s core identity to the healthcare industry.
Conclusion
Designing a compelling and innovative brand has an immense impact on your business’s success. Through the process of researching, brainstorming, and sticking to the core values, Orlando Health has managed to create a brand identity that has endured over the years. The company’s brand identity has undergone various changes throughout the years to keep its symbol relevant to the times and culture. The new logos serve as a bold reminder of the organization’s strategic and forward-thinking orientation, strength, and commitment to providing quality care to patients. The brand has come full circle, and the brand’s evolution is an inspiring reflection of a health care branding superhero.
