Having a strong brand, or identity, for your hospital (or any business for that matter) is extremely important. One of the most valuable facets of a strong brand is your logo.

Many times people recall visual images and associate a brand with an image (e.g. Nike’s swoosh or the Apple logo), so having a recognizable logo that communicates who your hospital is and impacts your audience, will allow you to stand out amongst your competitors—which is a pretty crucial factor in today’s economy.

Just like your hospital Web site is a marketing tool, your logo is a business tool, and if created with the right elements, your hospital’s visibility and creditability may all improve.

Here are some characteristics to keep in mind when designing an effective logo for your hospital:

• Black and White: Logos should translate well in both black and white because of how it will be displayed in all mediums (Web, print, fax, photocopies), as well as allow for those color blind to view it.

• Clean and Clear: Fit all elements of the logo together to form one, clean and concise unit, rather than have an overload of elements jumbling up the design.

• Memorable: Make your hospital’s logo stick out so once your audience sees it they remember it, for when they need your services.

• Meaningful: Represent and incorporate what your mission is while spreading the word of what your hospital stands for.

• Scalability: Logos must look good and be easily read at every size, from business cards to commercial spots to billboards. Your hospital’s logo must be easily resizable if need be.

• Timelessness: Have a fresh, relevant design that won’t go out of style.

• Unique and Original: Distinguish yourself from other hospitals in the community with a design and color choices that reflect your hospital’s individually, so it’s best to stray away from clip art or stock images.

What does your logo say about your hospital’s brand? Do you have any design tips for creating an effective hospital logo?

Did you know that in addition to being a leader in hospital Web site design and development, AVID Design also creates logos for hospitals or healthcare systems that demand attention, identify with your brand and stick out amongst the crowd? Contact us to learn more about our award-winning design services.

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It is December 27th. If you’re like us, you still have a ton of deadlines and a lot to do this week before the start of the new year, but there may be some of you out there that are twiddling your thumbs looking for something to do. May I offer a suggestion…

Does your ace cardiologist look like this?

I’ve seen your physician finder applications. You know that there are one or two physicians whose head shots came straight out of the credentialing software that provided them a security badge when they first started working for your hospital. There’s also that one doctor who looks like he is still stuck in 1984, there are those doctors whose heads look fat or skinny because the batch resizing that was done messed up an entire group of headshots, and of course, there is that one female doctor who doesn’t look to be wearing any clothes because of the horrible cropping job that was done to her headshot.

Why not spend one afternoon and make a plan to fix this problem?

There are 52 weeks next year and 26 letters in the alphabet. Make a plan now to update ALL the photos in your physician directory. Here are some steps to consider:

1. Figure out a location that you can set up a clean and non distracting background.
2. Get off the wall! Have your physician stand in front of the background, but not up against it. This will dramatically improve the quality of the shot.
3. By the way, this should be the same location and background for all your photos. If you can dedicate the area and leave it for the duration of your shoot, it will make the process that much easier.
4. Take some test pictures. Make sure you like the lighting. Harsh shadows on your subject and the background behind should be avoided.
5. Use a Tripod!
6. Make a schedule. Plan on all physicians with the same last letter to come in at once. Or have similar specialties come in during the same week.
7. Sell it to your physicians. Tell them how the newer, clean and friendly photos will look better than what you currently have.

If you really want to get an A on this exercise you could work on updating their bios while they’re in for photos. Have a simple worksheet or even an online form that they could fill out while they wait (Google Doc forms are great for this)

And if you are a real overachiever, this is a perfect time to plan some videos with the physicians. Maximize your time in front of them and get a quick soundbite video that could be associated with their bio.

Does your hospital have a trusted and reliable partner to build, manage and plan your online marketing strategies? Let AVID Design show you how we can become a valuable part of your marketing team.

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Many times I have been on the phone with a client or sitting in a conference room with a group of stakeholders and I get asked a variation of this question:

What is the best way for us to edit images for use on our Website?

The quick answer that most firms will give their clients is to use Photoshop or some other premium image editing software. Many of our clients don’t own Photoshop and don’t know how to use it. In the past we’ve recommended Picasa as an option for image editing. When my Adobe suite quit working on my computer the other day, I needed something a little more powerful than Picasa. I found Pixlr.

Pick Pixlr for your image editing needs!

Pixlr claims to be the “most popular advanced online image editor in the world!” I would agree with them. It requires no installation, no sign-up and no fee.

Many of the features that you expect in Photoshop are in Pixlr, such as a familiar looking interface, layers, image adjustments and other common tools.  Plus, Pixlr also sports some cool features like a crushed paper brush and a cloud brush, tutorials for the novice, and even an express feature (Pixlr Express) that allows for quick edits.  It’s a perfect way to edit your images.

By no means is it a substitute for all of the power that comes with Photoshop, but it definitely takes the cake in accessible and affordable image editing.  Try for yourself!

Have you used Pixlr?  What do think about it?  Let us know!

AVID Design is a full-service healthcare marketing agency that builds progressive, cutting-edge healthcare Websites, rich media applications and physician videos.

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This free image was quickly found on Flickr and used with permission via a Creative Commons license.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation that has created a simple set of licenses that make it possible for you to identify and use copyrighted images that—in some cases—can legally be used for commercial purposes.

If you are looking for free or inexpensive images for your Website and aren’t satisfied with options such as public domain or royalty free images, Creative Commons might be a solution.

Of course, as with most things that are free, you get what you pay for. However, there are some impressive images that have Creative Commons licensing, particularly on Websites like Flickr.

Types of Creative Commons Licenses

There are four major permissions that are contained in Creative Commons licenses:

• Attribution: Requires users to attribute an image’s original author.

Note that all Creative Commons licenses currently contain this option, but some previous licenses did not contain this component.

• Share-alike: This “copyleft” license requires any derived works to also be available for similar usage.

• No derivatives: As the name implies, the image may not be modified.

• Non-commercial: The image may be reproduced on a non-commercial site (such as a personal blog).

Derek Rudnak | Communications Specialist | AVID Design

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