Black Hawk County Public Health
With COVID-19 resources built up, we trained our focus back on the health department's brand. However, much of our findings from the research phase were out of date. The pandemic raised the department's visibility and changed the public’s perception of its function.
Before the pandemic, the creative strategy was centered around approachability. Early designs focused on openness and informality. However, the urgency around the pandemic pivoted the strategy. Based on sentiment tracking, we knew the community wanted an agency that was trustworthy and commanding.
Our design incorporated the NAACHO shield that represents the tenants for public health: Protect. Promote. Prevent. While the logo is adapted from the national public health brand, it is different enough to establish Black Hawk County’s Health Department from neighboring counties. It provides consistency and continuity in the public health field. But its thinner lines, enclosed circle, and accent marks give the depth and prominence needed for a county of this size.
Our team built a full branding guide and communication plan with a solidified creative approach to ensure consistent imagery and messaging. The health department team had a distributed method of content creation and publishing. Cohesive created a brand and communication wiki for their team to use as they worked to centralize their communication efforts. This wiki consists of brand guidelines, image assets, tone of voice, writing principles, content creation worksheets, publishing checklists, and organizational information.
Our team built a full branding guide and communication plan with a solidified creative approach to ensure consistent imagery and messaging. The health department team had a distributed method of content creation and publishing. Cohesive created a brand and communication wiki for their team to use as they worked to centralize their communication efforts. This wiki consists of brand guidelines, image assets, tone of voice, writing principles, content creation worksheets, publishing checklists, and organizational information.
BHC Public Health’s website is the focus of its communication toolkit. Cohesive worked with the agency’s team to understand each service area and how they reached vastly different audiences. We organized the content with clean, easy-to-understand navigation, while the home page highlighted strategic priorities such as health equity.
BHC Public Health’s website is the focus of its communication toolkit. Cohesive worked with the agency’s team to understand each service area and how they reached vastly different audiences. We organized the content with clean, easy-to-understand navigation, while the home page highlighted strategic priorities such as health equity.
COVID-19 showed us how swiftly the health landscape can change. We built the new website with the future in mind meaning we planned for content areas showcased emerging situations and threats. This system allows the public health team to publish and post information that is easy to find and use. We also focused on the mobile design, given the majority of their audience sees urgent information on their devices first.
COVID-19 showed us how swiftly the health landscape can change. We built the new website with the future in mind meaning we planned for content areas showcased emerging situations and threats. This system allows the public health team to publish and post information that is easy to find and use. We also focused on the mobile design, given the majority of their audience sees urgent information on their devices first.
With the brand and website completed, it was time to launch. We developed a brand campaign that coincided with National Public Health Week titled, “Public Health is Working for You!”. The campaign illustrated all of the ways public health impacted people’s everyday lives.
The public health director wanted to thank the public for following public health guidance during the pandemic. Since the pandemic was still impacting people’s daily lives, Cohesive created an augmented reality award experienced through Facebook and Instagram.
The campaign was a reflection on the past year of battling a pandemic while carrying out other initiatives to create a stronger, healthier community.
