Three co-owned care companies, now united and working together to change perceptions of truly personal care.
As separate companies under joint leadership, Next Generation Nursing & Care, Clear Thinking Care and Yourway offer complimentary but distinct services in the care sector. Next Generation is a staffing agency. Clear Thinking Care offers care solutions for people with complex needs, and Yourway offers community events and respite care activities. Owner Chris Crocker took the decision to open a large shared office and bring the three brands together under one roof. But the brands looked nothing alike, and Upshot’s job was to fix this.
Creating a shared visual identity across the workspace would involve finding a common thread. But there would be more to this than simply aesthetic changes.
What Upshot did
Strategic thinking
Following consultations, we recommended addressing the brand hierarchy and strategy by forming a holding company and master brand to contain the existing companies. The industry often gets a reputation for a ‘rack them and stack them’ approach. Carers can be treated poorly and thrown into overly challenging situations without enough training, experience or support, in order to meet rising needs at minimal cost.
The group stands against this mentality. People matter, and they ‘would rather be short than shit’, as a key member of the team stated, early on. They would rather hire good quality care healthcare assistants and support workers, and look after them, subsequently providing good quality service to their clients, and this might mean having to have the integrity to say no when they can’t deliver that particular standard of service.
Seeing the end user as a human that deserves genuine empathy and support (as opposed to a problem or a disability) was the catalyst for the big idea we were searching for. The Big Picture Care Group was born.
Visual identity
Consider a mosaic. When you look closely all you see is the individual, unique parts, but when you zoom out you get a far more telling picture of what those parts represent or form. This concept directly corresponds to the care process the three companies believe in – up close, situations, behaviours and struggles can feel like the be-all and end-all of a person. But when you treat a person as more than these and see them for who they are, a more holistic kind of care can be given.
We designed a set of unique square tiles – each based on a common template that meant they could tessellate and flow together. Each company was allocated a design that could be seen to represent what they did, and these tiles became the hook.
Website design
With the new vision and branding in place, the online presence for each company was the next key issue to fix. They now had a more distinct personality to communicate through clearer messaging, but they also needed to serve their purpose better – guiding specific audiences to more helpful information and enabling them to take action.
We initiated each website project by engaging with the respective stakeholders to establish clear objectives. For Next Generation, our goal was to enhance accessibility to staffing for care. Yourway aimed to establish a community and a platform that connects marginalised individuals in society. Clear Thinking Care sought to emphasise its focus on unique complex caring capabilities. With these fundamental objectives guiding our approach, we shaped the design and development of each site accordingly.
Impact
Taking a deep look at the reality of care work enabled us to avoid tropes and cliches for the Big Picture Care Group. Care isn’t all soft and gentle. It’s hard work, and the care packages these companies respond to demand a tough, resolute mentality from people who are dedicated to the very best service. The mosaic idea gives great scope for distinctive marketing materials, and the new websites make it easier for them to hire the best staff and be winning the care package contracts they need.
As it often does, the result of a rebrand goes way beyond look and feel. Three outstanding and empathetic care companies now work more closely together and stand firmly as the leaders in their field.
The impact of our websites has been substantial. Next Generation achieved a 9% conversion rate for job applications, Yourway saw a 41% increase in user engagement with its online activity calendar, and Clear Thinking Care experienced a nearly threefold rise in website traffic within the first three months. These metrics highlight the effectiveness of our designs and strategies in enhancing accessibility, engagement, and visibility for each organisation.
Credits
Mosaic man with beard: Photo by Sergio Mena Ferreira on Unsplash
Mosaic tiles: Photo by Peyman Farmani on Unsplash
Mosaic mockup Photo by Sergio de Paula on Unsplash
