Rebranding can feel like renovating a beloved home—exciting but challenging! With the right blueprint, you can create a space that feels fresh while still holding on to what matters. When African Christian Healthcare came to us for a rebrand, we knew we had the chance to create something special. In this article, we’re sharing three key ingredients that made this rebrand a success—early chats to set the tone, thoughtful feedback, and some collaborative fine-tuning to pull it all together.

1. Early Conversations and Expectations

When Kevin Linderman of African Christian Healthcare approached our team about a rebrand, our initial conversation laid the foundation for a positive and fruitful logo process.

Most people have never gone through a rebranding process before, so it is helpful for both parties to discuss what the process is going to look like and what best practices are as we move forward. In our initial conversation, Kevin explained that he was concerned about getting the rebrand approved by a large group of stakeholders. We have worked on a number of projects with large committees, and that can make for a difficult process, especially when there is conflicting feedback.

My recommendation to Kevin, based on prior experience, was to hand-select a smaller committee (I suggest no more than 5-6 people) to go through the initial process. This would involve giving early feedback, reviewing logo options, and requesting changes. Once the smaller group was satisfied with the result, they could bring the new branding to the larger committee for final approval.

2. Thoughtful and Helpful Feedback in the Pre-Design Stage

On a call with the ACH team, it was clear to me that everyone was happy to be there, willing to work together, and thoughtfully considering the questions I was asking. Their team did a wonderful job of getting on the same page, which helped immensely as I moved forward in the design process.

I left the call with clear ideas for design options, which made the design process go fairly quickly and smoothly. The words “natural” and “growth” surfaced frequently in the call, and with a focus on what location they serve, my first instinct was to create an icon in the shape of Africa out of leaves and branches. This ended up being the logo they chose!
(our logo process involves creating three custom-made options to choose from)

3. Fine-Tuning Collaboratively

After narrowing in on the logo, we began the fine-tuning process. One of their concerns regarding the logo was that the shape of Africa was not immediately obvious. Some viewed the subtlety as a positive, but overall the consensus was some adjustment was needed. The other main concern was the balance between the sizing of the words. “African” was too large, which downplayed the emphasis on “Christian”.

When some minor adjustments were made, the result was a logo that both our design team and the client were happy with! We assisted in creating some presentation materials that they could present to their board, and the logo was approved.

At the end of the day, rebranding is a team effort. With clear communication, open-minded collaboration, and a dash of creativity, you can transform a brand into something truly meaningful. Our work with African Christian Healthcare shows that by following these three keys, you can end up with a brand that not only looks great but feels right.

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“We really needed a brand refresh, but we needed so much more than great artwork. We needed someone to help us develop a focus group of our stakeholders, help them understand the basics of branding, and facilitate consensus for them to bring to our larger board. Kendra far exceeded our expectations—she helped us develop a great and efficient process, she facilitated meetings with stakeholders by zoom across different continents, and she presented great options for us to consider! When the group chose one, she continued to make adjustments, both before and after our board meeting which approved the new brand.”

“She promised that they would keep working on the brand until we were completely satisfied, and they did! Kendra patiently listened to our feedback throughout the process, and we could not be more happy with the final product, and we could not have enjoyed working with anyone more than Kendra and Think IS!”