The Health Foundation
Improving health and care quality across the UK and Ireland with the Q community
By focusing on the human side of how Q operate, we showcased their greatest asset.
What we did
- Brand strategy
- Workshops
- Visual identity
- Brand guidelines
- Communications
Impact measured against UN Sustainable Development Goals
Q is a long-term Health Foundation initiative to support individuals in fostering continuous and sustainable improvement in health and care.
To achieve this they create opportunities for people to come together and form a community, sharing ideas, enhancing skills and collaborating to make health and care better.
Building an effective community
The community is made up of a wide range of people including those at the front line of health and social care, patient leaders, managers, researchers, commissioners, policymakers and others.
The Health Foundation wanted to make Q an even more effective community, by bringing an even more diverse set of people together. They also wanted the full value of these members to be recognised by decision makers in the healthcare system.
With more perspectives involved and understood, they aim to use the influence and expertise of the community to improve healthcare across the country.
We loved William Joseph’s approach to using audience insight to help make decisions while developing and testing the brand collaboratively. This meant that we could have real confidence in the new brand and know it will help us meet our organisation’s goals.
Faye Goldman, Associate Director of Communications and Engagement, Q
User insight
Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research, we began to get a sense of the major challenges and opportunities for Q.
These key findings needed to be resolved to create a consistent, coherent brand narrative that would further grow the community and its reputation of quality.
Inclusivity versus elitism
One of the most important findings was the tension between inclusivity and elitism. There is an in-depth admission process to pass in order to become a member of Q, which for many is seen as gatekeeping.
For those in the community, the quality of dialogue, advice and influence far surpasses any other groups. Communicating the professionalism, diversity and community of members became key to overcoming the appearance of exclusivity and elitism.
Positioning statement
Boiling down Q’s messaging to a key positioning statement allowed us to highlight the diversity of the community and the benefits that it brings to the entire healthcare industry.
We co-wrote, workshopped and tested the statement with a wide range of members, stakeholders and partner organisations to ensure it was speaking both to and for the community as a whole.
Tone of voice principles
How Q speak about themselves and to their members is at the heart of the brand. By focusing on the human side of how Q operate, we were able to showcase their greatest asset.
Identity system
The visual identity is based around a system of assets that combine to create a brand that reflects the diverse membership and range of work of Q.
While the logo remains a key signifier and anchor for the overall system – echoing the parent Health Foundation brand – it’s not the sole asset and is considered just one aspect of an overall kit of parts.
A truly accessible brand
As a largely digital community, focusing on creating a digital-first brand was a strong part of the project from the start. By designing an accessible suite of colours, more people can engage with the community, leading to a more diverse set of views within the group.
To ensure that the community is a home for everyone every day, data visualisation and information graphics have also been designed to ensure that they are visible to people with a wide range of visual impairments. These considerations include:
- ensuring numeric data is displayed next to any visual representation
- not relying on a colour-coded chart legend
- ensuring colours used meet contrast standards
- separating all segments of a chart with whitespace
