Designing a sense of belonging and beyond

At Hinge Health we are investing in each other and ourselves in many ways. One key way is through making sure we are being inclusive at every level and creating space for our teammates to bring their whole selves everyday. To ensure we are investing in this, we have created a number of key employee resource groups (ERGs) for our communities. Along with creating and building out ERGs we have begun exploring sub-brand identity kits to continue to make the groups our own, unique, and as personalized as our communities. A part of these kits is exploring logo expressing for swag, event/activity promotions as we continue to be even more loud and proud about what our communities are doing.

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We needed to create a system that locks up each ERG group name with the Hinge Health logo in a consistent manner while giving the group an element to play with and make their own. It was also imperative we include the groups in the process and designers within the communities a primary seat at the table. Our current ERGs include:‍

• Ally ERG
• AccessABLE ERG
• Black Excellence ERG
• Crystal Queer ERG
• Latinx ERG
• Parent ERG
• POC ERG
• Veterans ERG
• Women's ERG

Initial scope of identity work

We started with a logo lock-up so that each group can begin their own journey of building out group and team event, swag, additional materials etc. Hinge Health has a very structured primary logo, so there was some great foundation to continue to explore and build sub-brands within.
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Staying within the diamond shape and having the letter H covering a large part of the design is challenging. We also have had to think about ways to represent each group in a way that is both abstract and recognizable at a smaller size, which can be complex when it comes to illustrations. 

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Process

As we are on a quick timeline, each ERG had a group meeting where they collected visual inspiration for their H icon. They created moodboards with colors, textures, patterns and illustration styles.

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Our creative team then worked with a representative of each group to make their vision shown through the icon. 

We went into a research phase and concepted a few options for each group. Our goal was to present at least 3 concepts for each logo to each ERG to see which ones would resonate with them the most. We tried to keep some consistency between each theme. 

From a color perspective, we decided to diverge a bit from our typical brand colors and expand the palette to answer the specific needs of this project. The illustration style is different from what we currently have at Hinge Health and much more simplified, without texture and less details.

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Outcomes
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After presenting to the ERG teams and some internal discussions, each group made their selection. The simplicity and consistency of these logos allowed us to easily create supporting materials such as swag and event promotion materials. 

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This helped bring a unique element to each group while all still falling under the Hinge Health umbrella. The visual system was received with interest and enthusiasm company-wide and we’re excited to keep expanding it. 

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