AltaMed: Lifetime Health Care
AltaMed is the largest independent Federally Qualified Community Health Center in the U.S. with more than 650,000 annual patient visits and 43 sites in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. AltaMed serves entire families with primary care, dental clinics and senior long-term care services. AltaMed also delivers disease management programs, health education, youth services, HIV/AIDS care and substance abuse treatment. AltaMed began in 1969 as the East Los Angeles Barrio Free Clinic.
Landkamer Partners was engaged to develop a brand identity program for AltaMed as the organization celebrated its 40th year and it became necessary to correct the misconception that AltaMed only offered senior care. We worked with AltaMed management for over 15 months to transform its brand presence into a reflection of what the accredited, nationally-regarded organization had become.
Program Scope
Brand Assessment
Strategy Development / Planning
Brand Identity Elements
Brand Communications Program
Brand Vehicle System Development
Brand Image Library Development
Brand Style Guide
Website Development
Website Design, CMS Development
Intranet Design, Development
Issues
- Create an updated public “face” reflecting the highest-quality care AltaMed provides and instill “unexpected comfort” with all audiences
- Connect emotionally to AltaMed’s multiple audiences—patients, families, caregivers, employees, donors, government officials, health care associations, the media
- Avoid overused health care imagery—hands, hearts, crosses, stethoscope, caduceus, exercise icons, etc.
- Leverage a highly-visible prime communication venue, the fleet of senior transport vehicles, to change the perception that AltaMed only offers senior care
- Maintain the equity-laden AltaMed logotype, but explore fresh color and brand identity system approaches beyond the existing AltaMed gray and teal green
- Explore the meaning of “alta”—up, higher, sun, sky, higher achievement—as a conceptual springboard
Solution
We set out to create a visual vocabulary that felt uplifting and hopeful. To embody a feeling of vibrancy, life, fresh, active, Southern California, and preventative health care imagery. To break the mold of traditional (scary, sad, depressing) visuals. A feeling of “let’s go for a walk to lower blood pressure” or “let’s eat fresh foods to change those cholesterol numbers.” Our result was the AltaMed brand graphic illustration.
Our research revealed that access to plants and green colors of nature can have a positive healing effect. The Landkamer Partners team leveraged this fact as well as used the heritage AltaMed teal green to maintain a link with the past. Each piece of the “circle of life” illustration helps convey a positive health care story. It is happy, works as a unit, and tells a larger, robust “lifetime” story.
The brand graphic beautifully fills the bottom of a page or sits as a complete circle with space around it. It is used either on white or on one of a palette of vibrant gradient backgrounds. The AltaMed Seal was devised to suggest an official “seal” that signals achieving the highest-level of health care accreditation. The seal showcases the tagline and creates a more formal impression when needed.
Additionally we created a brand image photography library of AltaMed patients and their families for use throughout the program. Landkamer Partners also developed Altamed’s English and Spanish CMS-driven website as well as the senior transport vehicles fleet identity system as part of our ongoing, long-term engagement.
