Henry Ford Health System
Branding One henry Ford
THE WHY
“One Henry Ford” was once just an ambitious aspiration for a fragmented group of separate medical centers, community hospitals and medical group administrators. In reality, Henry Ford Health System was losing more than $70 million per year and the CEO described the fragmented and depressed culture as “one thousand points of veto.”
UNITY by design
THE WAY
It takes more than swapping signage to unify a health system. We worked with the leadership of Henry Ford to discover their highest common denominator as a leader in Quality & Safety – across all business units.
Brand Architecture Problem
Bringing unity to the brand experience and wayfinding, we offered a flexible system for the various organizational units who held requirements for differentiation. Hospitals and medical centers needed wayfinding that would distinguish them apart. The mobile app required a simplified solution and the medical group required an insignia which would certify experts with a badge of recognition.
Identity Architecture Design
In parallel with the development of a visual identity, we developed the brand profile for the organizational leadership. Our process began with understanding the "Why." Henry Ford founded the hospital with a belief that "everybody deserves a better life." This was discovered in the DNA of the organization, and continues to this day.
Brand Profile Development
ONE HENRY FORD
THE RESULTS
Aligning all work and all brand communications to the above brand profile, eventually, Henry Ford Health System would go on to grow from $1.6 billion to $5 billion, making more than $100 million in net revenue. Becoming the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, it was a true turn-around story, and an inspiration to every health system our team would eventually have the privilege to serve.