Health Equals’ identity looks to change how we think about health

Rbl Brand Agency has rebranded Health Equals – formerly The Collaboration for Health and Wellbeing – with a 3D logomark that “leans into the equals” of its name and characterful typography.

Health Equals is a group of 29 member organisations working to reduce health inequality in the UK. The Health Foundation is the core funder of Health Equals but not the sole owner.

According to Rbl, the studio essentially created the Health Equals brand from scratch as, being in the early stages of conception, it  only had a name and simple logo.

Health Equals’ concept is “about systematic change that could take 25 years”, says Rbl creative director Adam Concar. Consequently, the brand had to be designed to last as long as possible and keep flexing “as the subject evolves over time”, he adds.

“Saturated with health messaging”

The brief came through as the country was emerging out of the pandemic, when there was a “huge spotlight on health” and people had been “saturated with health messaging”, says Rbl’s strategic lead Rhiannon Lowe.

Rbl sought to cut through the noise with a disruptive brand and a clear strategic direction. As Health Equals deals with “a complex subject” that has been relatively “invisible and hidden”, Lowe says the studio sought to examine people’s perspectives on health and how different factors can affect it.

Lowe explains that “it could be your home that affects your health or the air you breath, or even where you go to school”.

With core strategic ideas of “value, opportunity and happiness”,  Lowe says Rbl was able to create a brand that “provides a window into people’s lives in a way that is sensitive and appropriate”.

“A conversation starter”

The organisation’s stakeholders realised that elements of the original name were generic and unclear but had “quite a lot of attachment to the word collaboration”, says Lowe. After research showed the name Health Equals to elicit a strong public response, the stakeholders were happy to take the brand in a different direction.

Rbl also carried out a public consultation and tested the brand with the policy makers that Health Equals is trying to reach. Lowe describes the new name as “a conversation starter” for the less familiar topics covered by the organisation, with “positivity and optimism at the heart of it”.

Concar says the logomark “leans into the equals” in the new name. Its 3D format aims to evoke the idea of looking at health from “every angle and every perspective” and made the mark “even more flexible and impactful”, according to Concar. It was also designed to be compatible with motion graphics.

“A cost-effective solution”

A typeface called Obviously by James Edmondson at Adobe Fonts is applied across the identity. Using an existing typeface was “a cost-effective solution”, says Concar, as Health Equals is supported by public-funded organisations. As the sans serif font has 96 styles, Concar explains how the different weights of the font “bring slightly different tones of voice to the communications” and add more character.

With photography, Rbl opted for existing street shots that “bring the experience of life in the UK to the forefront of the brand in a non-judgemental way”, says Concar.

“New visual language to communicate a new concept”

Lowe describes the colour palette of hot orange, supported by chalk, black and white as “fresh and unexpected” with “a sense of vibrancy, optimism and empowerment”. Concar adds that palette aims to represent “national life” and “the way we live, work, and play”.

He explains that Health Equals’ brand language was devised by Rbl to translate technical and complex information into “accessible and easy to understand” copy that reflects real life experience.

One of the main challenges was “finding that new visual language” to communicate a concept that may be new to people, says Concar. As well as providing a formal communication to internal policy makers, Concar says the brand also has to flex for “large public-facing, multiyear campaigns”.

Health Equals’ new identity will roll out across communications, a national social media campaign, and an interactive platform – which can tell you your life expectancy based on where you live.