Brand Book

AND THE WINNER IS...

Although it was really close at the end, the winner by class vote was the blue abstracted double helix logo. It's interesting that the logo with the most conservative color for this industry was chosen. To it's defense though, it isn't a sad blue like all of the competitors. 

Now we have been tasked to create a Brand Identity Guidelines Book. I chose a tall and skinny format (5x11) for the book. Also, I wanted to perfect-bind the book, because I feel like it looks much better than a spiral bound book. And here it is. Thank you for staying with me through this whole process. I hope you have enjoyed yourself as much as I have.

Identity Presentation

For this stage of the process, we have refined our three directions down to a variety of deliverables. They range from product applications, to logo presentations showing multiple sizes and black/white options. The presentation has been prepared with both digital and printed deliverables to try and sell one of our concepts to the class. After the presentation, the class will vote anonymously to choose one of the directions as our final solution.

Identity Applications

As we were preparing the final three solutions for evaluation by the rest of the class, we were presented with the task of applying our logos to different objects. These objects could be anything from stationery to websites. As the client is able to see their options in context, it is much easier to make a good decision on a final design direction. For my applications, I chose to handle each of them in a similar fashion and let the logo do all the dirty work. In my mind, I thought this would help a client make a decision based on the logo alone, and not be swayed by the application. But in hind site, this may not have been the best approach.

Identity Finish

At this stage in the rebranding process, we have narrowed things down to three final options that will need to be refined and presented to the class who will be acting as the client. The three options that we present must meet both creative and strategic criteria as they have been laid out in our mood boards.
The company name that was chosen after presenting the 15 roughs was Genetech. I am quite pleased that this is the one that was chosen because somewhere deep down I knew I liked it better. Sometimes it is best to get some outside confirmation though.
These are the three options that I will be presenting.

Identity Roughs

After a direction was chosen from the mood boards, we began with 15 rough identity sketches. The goal of this exercise was to come up with 15 different directions using different methods. These different directions could be symbolic, typographic, or even abstract.
At this point in the process, I haven't quite settled in on a name for the rebrand. As you can see, I have been going back and forth between two options. So I will present to the class and see if anyone has any strong opinions one way or the other.

Mood Boards

At this stage we have been tasked to create mood boards to present to the class that will show our research, strategic recommendations, and mood explorations. The intent is to show visually how we would like to present the new look and feel of the company as we rebrand it. For my presentation I have chosen to show the following five mood boards. Take a look, why don't you?

Naming

This list is a proposal of 15 names that could be possible replacements for Myriad Genetics. After this list is complete, I will address the decision of a name change. Myriad Genetics isn't a bad name, but it is fairly generic.

1. Genie Genetics- Silly, but light-hearted. It may come off as a bit more friendly to consumers.
2. Double Helix- DNA reference. Sounds more technical.
3. Genetech- this one reminds me of the movie Office Space. It's pretty nerdy.
4. King Genetics- Named after the lead scientist that developed the tests sold by Myriad.
5. PreNetics- A mash up of "prevention" and "genetics."
6. C17 Genetics- Sounds technical. C17 is the chromosome that BRCA1 was linked to.
7. MyHealth Genetics- A more human and personable name. Also describes their company goal.
8. Prime Genetics- This is still pretty generic, but "prime" is more positive than Myriad.
9. BeWell Genetics- Similar to "myhealth" but more of a call to action in a name.
10. MyRisk Genetics- Could seem a little negative using "risk" in a name.
11. RiskAssess- Still uses "risk" but in more of a call to action kind of way.
12. MyAnalysis Genetics- Spells out what the company does in a personable way.
13. GeneCare- Genetics+Care. Two things that the company talks about over and over.
14. BRACAnalysis- Their leading product. It may make sense to use this as the company name.
15. Prolaris- Another Myriad product. A little more memorable, and has positive connotations.

At this point, I would like to explore rebranding Myriad Genetics with a new name. Partly because I don't think Myriad Genetics is the best name for this company, and because they have had some negative press attention recently. A rebranding would help them focus on the positive aspects of the company and look forward to the future.

Company Research

History: Based in SLC, Utah. Founded in 1992

Mission: Make a difference in people’s lives through the discovery and commercialization of transformative tests to assess a person’s risk of developing disease.

Company Pledge: Dedicated to improving patient care through pioneering research and the development of innovative molecular diagnostic tests.

Tag Line: Dedicated to improving patient care at every turn.

Competitors: Abbott Laboratories, Diagnocure INC, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

Press Releases: http://investor.myriad.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=788983 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) announced today that it has launched myRisk Hereditary Cancer, a new multi-gene diagnostic test that will provide increased sensitivity by analyzing 25 genes associated with eight major cancers including: breast, colorectal, ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic, prostate, gastric and melanoma.

http://investor.myriad.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=781362 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) today announced it will hold its fourth-quarter 2013 sales and earnings conference call with institutional investors and analysts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 13. During the call, Peter D. Meldrum, president and chief executive officer; James Evans, chief financial officer; and Mark Capone, president, Myriad Genetics will provide an overview of Myriad's financial performance for the quarter and full year.

Annual Report: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/MYGN/2670366631x0x609720/21CB3333-E94D-4CD7-A045-B2274730BB61/365488_013_MYRIAD_GENETICS_INC_BMK.pdf

Mystery Shopping: I haven’t been able to find any mystery shopper info. Their product is one administered by doctors. So they are more in the realm of a Pharmaceutical company. There is no direct patient to company interaction.

History of Logos Used:

These are not in chronological order, but they are all versions that exist in various places across their website and the internet at large. There are noted differences in color, design, and text backgrounds.

Divisions: These divisions represent different products that Myriad offers. In some cases there is a strong link between their branding. In others, it seems like it is from another company all together.

Brand Architecture: On the side of the consumer, there is much more brand recognition with the products themselves. Most people know the product name, but not the Myriad Genetics name.

The Competition: 

Abbott Laboratories

Diagnocure Inc.

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics

There is an obvious use of blues and greens in these logos. The brand's name seems to be at the top of the hierarchy. The images used in the logos are pretty generic. If they were to stand alone, I wouldn't know what the company is or what it did. 

Myriad Visual Audit: Myriad Genetics has chosen to use a combination of serif and sans-serif fonts on their site. The serifed font used in the logo is acceptable and seems appropriate, but the sans-serif face they have chosen for the headers and body type has legibility issues. They have made an attempt to use blue throughout the site, but the value of the blue seems to vary from one asset to the next.

Consistency needs to be addressed. Also, a more interesting color palette would be nice. The mix of blues and grays is a bit drab. I would like to see a new palette introduced. The main blue color could be maintained, but an analogous or complimentary color introduction would be more interesting and visually appealing. I would also like to see a more legible, and professional looking typeface applied to the body text of the site. Their current face seems to have too much personality for body text. 

The issue of the divisions within Myriad may be a lot to tackle, but there are some definite consistency issues in this are of their brand. Some specific brand guidelines should be applied to the outliers. Specifically, I would like to see Prezeon, Prolaris and TheraGuide modified to fit the branding of the rest of their product line.

On each page, besides the homepage, they have chosen to use some lifestyle shots with overlaid graphics as banners. I don't have a strong opinion either way about these yet. They at least maintain some consistency, but they don't really strengthen the brand in any way. The color palette is a bit strange here. There are some new colors introduced that don't exist elsewhere. This needs to be addressed as well.

Conclusion: I would like to use the elements that are working for them and expand upon these. The choice of blue as the main color choice feels appropriate. It may not be the right blue, but that will be addressed as the rebranding progresses. Type choices need to be worked with. Also the sub-branding of their products needs some attention. I would also like to explore a secondary and possibl tertiary color to introduce to the companies brand.