Category: Branding

Be real

Posted on by Brian Lee

I was really disheartened earlier this week. A person in the world on PR–I’ll keep him nameless–seemed like a affable guy. I had attended a presentation of his, and I read his book. His theme was “I’m approachable. Call me. Email me.”

However, that was anything but the case. After he sent me some curt responses to my emails (I assumed he was just busy), I tried to chat with him in person on Monday at an event we both attended. After I introduced myself, he said hi and then immediately walked away and started a conversation with someone else.

The situation reminded me of an instructor I had in college. In class, he made tons of jokes, and he was friendly at a party he hosted at his house. But in office hours, he was a real asshole (an opinion I shared with many of his students).

Whether you’re branding an individual (including yourself) or an organization, it does no good to put lipstick on a pig. Doesn’t the public always find out? I think it’s better to be known as a jerk than a liar.

Another ICD-10 delay ultimately hurts patients

Posted on by Brian Lee

Make no mistake. The U.S. healthcare system is broken. In fact, you should be amazed that the care you receive is as good as it is, meaning that it could be even worse, but it should be a lot better.

What I find particularly laughable is the ongoing delays to the deadline for ICD-10 to be adopted officially. ICD-10 is the latest international classification of diseases and health problems. As I’ve discovered in researching this for a client, its mandatory implementation has been delayed before, first six years ago from the original deadline of Oct. 1, 2011 to Oct. 1, 2013, then again to Oct. 1, 2014, and then again to Oct. 1, 2015.

Now comes news of basically another delay. The endless push for delays stems from healthcare and medical trade associations spending money to lobby for more and more delays instead of spending that same money on implementation. Here’s an example from the Texas Medical Association.

“One of the major things that is different this time around is that the big hospitals feel ready and we’ve moved into the reality that any further delay is just costing us money,” UMMC Dr. John Showalter said in an interview with healthcareITnews.com.

Did you know that ICD-9 was published in 1977 (though not adopted in the United States until 1995)? It’s so old that 50,000 existing codes can’t be used, most of the terminology is outdated and no new diseases can be added to it. That means healthcare itself can’t improve without the new codes.

“This freezing of ICD-9 does not allow for improvements in the disease specificity that we need to measure outcomes,” Dr. James Kennedy of FTI consulting told HC Pro.

Hospitals and other healthcare providers, as well as groups like the American Medical Association, need to stop whining and begin the implementation process. Otherwise, we can continue to say goodbye to innovation, cost savings and most importantly, patient safety.

The logo creation process

Posted on by Brian Lee

Creating a logo for a product or brand is not easy, but there’s no reason for it to be more difficult than it should.

The meticulous process of logo creation is time consuming with the end goal of creating something that sparks brand recognition. Following the steps provided below should mitigate some potential challenges, resulting in an easier process of creating a unique logo that meets the client’s needs.

  1. Research the Company. Prior to meeting with your client, make sure to research everything about the company, including how it currently brands itself (if at all) and past logos. Understanding the changes it made in past logos will help you know what elements to stay away from when creating the new logo.
  2. Meet with the Client. It’s important to understand their mission statement and what the company stands for. Understanding what they want to get out of their new logo is also important. Sometimes their vision isn’t clear, so make sure to ask a lot of questions to guide them along.
  3. Research Ideas. Before you start designing, see what other companies in the same industry have done. You’d hate to design a logo, only to see that you inadvertently created something similar to a competitor’s logo.
  4. Design Elements. Key design elements to keep in mind when designing your logo are good use of balance, clever use of color, creative recognition and a design style that suits the company.  Another key element in design is your typography. Commonly used fonts do not stand out. You also need to make sure you choose a font that matches the company’s style, and one that is legible in different scales.
  5. Get Feedback. Before taking your samples to your client, try to get a couple other sets of eyes on your designs.  Ask co-workers, art directors or friends to get opinions. By working on the same logos for a certain period of time, you may miss something that someone else may see.
  6. Present samples to client. Creating 2-3 versions helps your client compare and contrast, but don’t give them more, as too many options can be overwhelming.
  7. Re-work based on feedback. There will most certainly be changes to your design based on what the client wants. Be prepared to rework your designs based on their feedback. In part, sometimes it’s because a group of people analyzing your designs don’t agree with one another and want a whole new design (known as “death by committee”). This is more likely to occur. If you’re lucky, you may only have to switch a few things, like fonts or color. Understanding the client’s feedback when re-working designs will reduce the chances of never-ending revisions.