Inner West Women’s Health
The client
When my client and friend Chloe put me in touch with a friend of hers — a GP — to help with their website and branding, it didn’t take me long to realise this was my group of GPs, in Leichhardt, in Sydney’s Inner West.
I am borderline evangelical about these doctors — every single doctor is wonderful. I have my usuals, of course, but if I ever need to get one of my family members in quick smart, I know that every GP available provides the highest standard of care.
The brief + project
Visual Identity & Website Design
With such a wonderful group of doctors, many of whom are women, the practice decided to create a separate brand that tailors exclusively to women (as well as some men in the area of sexual and HIV health).
Led by Dr Rebecca South, who has a wealth of experience in the area of sexual and reproductive health, practice partner Dr Jess Stuart-Harris and practice manager Penny Mills, the group wanted a brand and website that was inclusive, informative and that would be able to promote the new practice, whilst operating seamlessly with the Leichhardt GP brand as well.
The creative
Getting each of the stakeholders, some half a dozen GPs, together at the same time was no mean feat, and we did it, for about half an hour on a Friday lunchtime in early May. I needed to move fast — to engage them in the discussion and ensure each voice was heard as we discussed their vision, skillset and brand values as we looked to move their offering into this new area. This was then followed up with more detailed discussions with Bec, Jess and Penny to nail the brand strategy.
Two creative directions were presented for their consideration, with an elegant and ever-so-retro option chosen that nods to the diverse (and shall I say ‘trendy’) culture of Sydney’s Inner West. There are still shopfronts, including one on their street, that use old-fashioned signwriting, and I wanted a logo that could conjure this through simple and elegant typography from yesteryear.
We trod carefully with our image search, being sure to choose women who looked like people we’d bump into in the streets of the Inner West. I also chose to use a suite of hand-drawn icons to illustrate each of the practice areas. It was a deliberate choice to be quite graphic with some of these — why be obtuse when we’re talking about what is perfectly normal anatomy for 50.01% of the population?! I felt this was really important in order to normalise any issues people may have with their sexual or reproductive health, and encourage people to not hesitate when seeking treatment.
We built the website using Squarespace, so that the team could keep on top of their blogging, which they do regularly, with ease.
It was a joy to work with such a great local healthcare provider. Take a look at the final product:
Thank you to the wonderful team at Inner West Women’s Health! I can’t wait to see your new practice throw open its doors and bring your special brand of high-quality healthcare to our local community.