YNHHS' new brand will officially launch with the dedication of the new Park Avenue Medical Center in Trumbull May 3. The brand logo is a simple, straightforward use of type – called a wordmark. Examples of other companies with highly successful wordmarks include Google and Coca-Cola.

The logo is just part of the larger rebranding of YNHHS and its delivery networks. The brand also includes design elements – such as a family of colors, standard fonts, direct, up-close photos and the use of white space in simple, open layouts. These elements come together to convey a strong, progressive look which is a key component of the Yale New Haven Health brand.

In early May, employees will start to see the new logo and look appear in newsletters, advertisements and other printed pieces. However, the more significant items – such as signs on hospital buildings and employee/physician ID badges – will be phased in, one hospital at a time, over the next several months. This is a cost-saving measure to avoid hiring outside agencies to convert the design of everything at once. It also allows us to spread the costs over two fiscal years. Our goal is to implement this critical strategic initiative as cost-efficiently as possible.

Shortly after the Park Avenue Medical Center opening, signs and photo IDs at Bridgeport Hospital will begin to change to the new look. During the summer, Yale- New Haven Hospital will start to convert, and Greenwich Hospital following that.

As part of the phase-in, and to help reduce waste, employees are asked to use up materials with the old logo – such as brochures, giveaways and stationery – before ordering items with the new logo. As the inventory of these items gets low, rather than reprint, we will redesign them, one project at a time, until almost everything is redesigned by spring 2017. Additionally, uniforms with the current logo imprinted do not need to be replaced immediately. A special website, called the Yale New Haven Health Brand Center, has launched, with a comprehensive description of the brand, sample logos, usage guidelines, frequently asked questions and additional information. It will also offer a "Request a Logo" function to ensure that logos are appropriately distributed and used. To log in, go to the Intranet, look under References and click on Brand Center. Use your regular, single sign-on login user name and password.

The new Brand Center will link directly to the YNHHS Marketing and Communications department, which will continue to assist with and approve the use of the YNHHS, hospital or NEMG logos in advance, according to YNHHS policy. This includes logos for all printed materials, clothing, giveaway items, etc.

The Brand Center will also allow staff to submit a project request to Marketing and Communications online. Please wait until your inventory of items with the old logo is low – there are literally thousands of materials that will need to be rebranded and Marketing and Communications will need to spread out the work as much as possible.