Summary
Mend by Tend (formerly PomDocs) is a pediatric telemedicine platform that was in dire need of a clean slate. After conducting research into the telemedicine industry, we realized the industry lacked a brand with a “human touch.” We found most telemedicine brands were sterile and didn’t center their messaging around patients. We set out to create a new brand that could fill the human gap prevalent in the telemedicine field.
Challenges
We didn’t want to redesign the brand in a way that would alienate or confuse existing users of the platform. As an added challenge, we also had to improve the internal processes of the organization to fit the new positioning of the brand.
Tasks
The founders wanted us to create a brand that stood out amongst competitors. We needed to push the envelope in an industry that played it safe. The goal was to create a timeless brand that could earn the trust of pediatric doctors and parents.
Mission Statement
The founders were well-informed about their target audience but lacked the right messaging to attract users to their platform. It was important for us to craft a mission statement that spoke to the end users — pediatric doctors and parents. The brand had to be positioned in a way that resonated with both sides.
During the brand consultation, we uncovered the purpose behind the brand. We stripped away the existing brand identity and got down to the core offering of the platform: connecting patients with pediatric doctors.
Pediatric doctors have a unique job of working with children. Similar to teachers, they’re responsible for nurturing future generations. We wanted to translate this powerful message into a mission statement for the company. After hours of brainstorming with the founders, we formed the mission statement:
“We care for the next generation.”
The mission statement was kept broad enough so that it could apply indefinitely and beyond the telemedicine industry. This served as a testament to the founders’ vision of one day providing high-quality healthcare to anyone and anywhere in the world.
Once the mission statement was developed, it informed all other design, branding, and marketing decisions to come. We now had the North Star we needed to make sure that PomDocs would be headed in a direction that was true to its core DNA.
Naming + Slogans
mend x tend. Mend by Tend? Mend Extend? Mend x Tend.
It’s a name that makes you double-take, and we think that’s a good thing.
We renamed PomDocs since we wanted to pay homage to the mission statement by evoking a feeling of caregiving. “Mend by Tend” was derived from the terms “mending” and “tending.” Doctors heal or mend their patients by tending to their needs.
Logo + Visuals
It was important for the logo to evoke a warm and positive emotion. To create the logo, we combined the main components of the brand: telemedicine, care, and people. The result was an icon that is easily recognizable and symbolic of the brand’s mission.
Most of our interactions with brands nowadays are through digital screens so it’s critical that the name is visually appealing. We used the “X” as a visual representation for a bridge– bridging the gap between patients and doctors and tech and medicine. It lends symmetry to the wordmark and allows us to capitalize on the “X” in other branded elements.
Hitting the sweet spot between human and clinical was a critical goal we had to hit. The Gibson font is imposing and stern but we made it more approachable and friendly by using lowercase lettering. We chose dark blue and light blue as the primary colors (common in the medical industry) and paired them with playful orange and red accents to make the brand appeal to all ages.
Iconography
To capture the “human touch” essence, we hand-drew all the icons for the brand. This allowed us to bring an organic and empathetic touch to an otherwise sterile topic and make the brand stand out amongst the sea of overused stock medical imagery and iconography on the web.
A screenshot taken from the website.
Brand Guide
As we do with all of our clients, we developed a comprehensive brand guide to outline all the elements of the brand. The brand guide included the entire design system for Mend by Tend to draw from as they expanded their business and their services.
The brand guide included many elements of the brand including the mission statement, slogan, fonts, color palette, iconography, and imagery.
Website
Our goal was to develop an intuitive experience for both patients and doctors. We designed the site so that it was functional across devices and catered to our end users.
Screen captures taken from Mend by Tend website.
Behind-the-Scenes Process Improvement
Human interaction lies at the core of everything Mend by Tend does as a technology platform and a company. We wanted to improve the team’s efficiency by automating scheduling and follow-ups. To achieve this, we set up Typeforms and integrated them with Calendly. For added security, we stored all the information we collected in HIPPA-compliant servers.
Conclusion
Our efforts allowed Mend by Tend to evolve as a brand with a clear path to becoming a household name in the healthcare industry.
As part of their offering, Mend by Tend provides pro-bono consultation for a family in need for every paid consultation they receive. The initiative ties back to its core mission of caring for the next generation.
Mend by Tend is now offered in over ten different countries around the world.
“4am took the time and energy to fully understand our brand and worked very closely with us to help develop it so it met our vision. They exceeded expectations in absolutely every possible way — we haven’t stopped getting compliments on the new logo and website!”
-Natalie Eisermann, CMO & Co-Founder
Key Contributors:
Thomas Echezabal — Brand Strategist
Claire Graybeal — UI/UX + Graphic Design
Aleczander Figueroa — Web Developer
