Solidify Health Brand strategy + character design

Solidify Health are software specialists. After working with the NHS for many years they realised a new approach was desperately required to manage patient data. So they developed a solution. To convey it to the world they sought a local design agency, so contacted Manchester design agency Superfried to develop their brand strategy.

At present during a typical patient journey through the NHS system, their critical information may be saved and retrieved repeatedly from over 11 disconnected servers or machines. As the number of services or devices increases, the potential risk of delay or inaccuracy also increases. Their alternative approach is to have just one source of data controlled by the patient. Using a personal data store eliminates the risk of inaccuracy since any update will only happen once.

During the discovery and research phase it became apparent that although the principle was simple and elegant, it was difficult to convey. There were also concerns with regard to trust – would patients be sceptical of a third party accessing their personal data. With this in mind, a creative solution was required to represent their role within the process – which led to Fido!

Fido is a dog – the characteristics of which beautifully represent their innovative solution. Fido will protect and guard the patient's data from those who have not been granted access. But when required Fido will dutifully fetch their data. As a loyal companion, Fido will follow the patient wherever they go and always be by their side at a moment's notice. Not only did this creative analogy fit, a dog is also a common symbol of trust and provides a warm, organic presence for a potentially cold and technical product. In addition to this, to establish trust, the use of Fido would eradicate the need for the usual staged, cheesy healthcare photos used throughout the sector.

However, if Fido were to take the leading role, it would need to be versatile and perform many tasks. So the illustration style needed to be simple. With this in mind, and to reflect their clear, methodical approach, the dog was developed using separate, disconnected geometric components. This design process enabled Fido to be posed in numerous positions easily, which subsequently allowed for simple animations to be developed efficiently. Fido was now alive and full of personality! For consistency, the geometric component approach was continued for the illustration style of avatars designed for each team member.

For the logotype design and typography, the simple geometric style was maintained. Outfit provided the perfect, creative solution – easily accessible for all, available in multiple weights, friendly style and originally developed to be as geometrically pure as possible. For the logotype, bespoke alterations were applied. A subtle connection with Fido was considered when developing the strapline – Your data, by your side.

Moving onto the palette, this was a tricky balancing act. The use of colour needed to be positive, vibrant, and approachable whilst also conveying a sense of calm, consideration, and control. Too bright and it may put off older demographics or feel too techy. Too conservative runs the risk of appearing unapproachable and out of date. A dark blue and teal provided a calm backdrop or strong headline copy. The addition of a brighter turquoise provided a harmonious companion. As a highlight for calls to action a warm orange and golden brown were employed, with the latter a logical option for Fido.

Solidify Health was originally named after the open-source Solid platform they were using, developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. However, for technical reasons, this was no longer possible. So the company subsequently changed their name to Catellus – the Latin word for puppy.

Catellus website