The Fuse Logo

The Fuse Logo

Medium: Integrated
Company: McKesson / RelayHealth
Role: Design Direction, Brand Strategy, Visual Design, Research
Year: 2016

Medium: Integrated
Company: McKesson / RelayHealth
Role: Creative Direction, UI/UX Design, Visual Design
Year: 2015

Challenge:
Create a wholly new product brand experience and logo for RelayHealth's premiering data platform, Fuse; one that's experientially and visually distinct while nurturing a symbiosis between the Fuse product features and RelayHealth's business advisory offerings.

Here's how I solved this challenge...

Challenge:
Create a wholly new product brand experience and logo for RelayHealth's premiering data platform, Fuse; one that is experientially and visually distinct while nurturing a symbiosis between the Fuse product features and RelayHealth's business advisor offerings.

Derivation of the Symbol

Derivation of the Symbol

During the naming discovery process for Fuse, a series of visuals were collected to construct inspiring moodboards, representing varying ideological perspectives on what to name the platform. It was in this collection of images spanning physics, biology, art, music, and architecture­ that I found a recurring visual theme so common it is often overlooked despite its inherent significance to the world we know: the hexagon. It's a shape that's so efficient that it can be witnessed on a scale spanning the molecular to the cosmological.

During the naming discovery process for Fuse, a series of inspiring visuals were collected to construct moodboards. They represented varying ideological perspectives on what to name the platform. It was in this collection of images—spanning physics, biology, art, music, and architecture­—that I found a common theme: a recurring, archetypal geometry so common it is often overlooked despite its inherent significance to the world we know. The hexagon—a form with such efficiency it is witnessed on a scale reaching from the molecular to the cosmological, being leveraged in both in the physical and biological realms.

In his book A Beginners Guide to the Constructing Universe, Michael S. Schneider wrote: "Hexagons contain a message that efficient structure, function, and order are happening." This assessment reflected the core messaging behind Fuse. Upon reading this, I wanted to explore how this shape could inform the logo and identity design.

In his book A Beginners Guide to the Constructing Universe, Michael S. Schneider writes "Hexagons contain a message that efficient structure, function, and order are happening." Serendipitously, this definition reflected the core messaging of Fuse. It was here the hexagon was solidified as the natural starting point to inform the logo and identity design.

Selections from the moodboard naming process
 

Symbol origin gallery taken from the naming process moodboards
 

Once established that the hexagon shape would be the influential core of the logo, it became necessary to identify its unique inherent geometry and how that could inform the design. Through analysis and deconstruction of the internal geometry, an intrinsic, as well as extrinsic, structure revealed itself. How hexagons are constructed and tesselate along a grid structure opened a new set of possibilities, with new geometries and hierarchies unfolding. On a side note, a hexagon is one of only three regular geometries that tesselate seamlessly upon a Euclidean Plane (the other two are the equilateral triangle and
the square).
 

Once established that the hexagon shape would be the influential core of the logo, it became necessary to identify its unique inherent geometry and how that could inform the design. Through analysis and deconstruction of the internal geometry, an intrinsic, as well as extrinsic, structure revealed itself. How hexagons are constructed and tessellate along a grid structure opened a new set of possibilities, with new geometries and hierarchies unfolding. On a side note, a hexagon is one of only three regular geometries that tesselate seamlessly upon a Euclidean Plane. The other two are the equilateral triangle and the square.
 

Even though the hexagon shape itself was proving to be full of potential, it was still necessary to ensure that strategic factors defining the brand experience were considered in design formulations of the logo. Foremost of these was the charter of Fuse, ensuring accurate matching of patient data across disparate clinical networks, often characterized as data harmony. A recurring visual representing this idea, the Yin-Yang, was found on several mood board iterations in the naming process.

Even though the hexagon shape itself was proving to be full of potential, it was still necessary to ensure that strategic factors defining the brand experience were considered in design formulations of the logo. Foremost of these was the charter of Fuse, ensuring accurate matching of patient data across disparate clinical networks, often characterized as data harmony. A recurring visual representing this idea, the Yin-Yang, was found on several mood board iterations in the naming process.

Visual influences considered for the logo design

Visual influences considered for the logo design

Symbol discovery process

Symbol discovery process

Symbol construction

Symbol construction

Final rendered Fuse symbol

Final rendered Fuse symbol

When considering a letterform for the wordmark that would accompany the Fuse symbol, I sought to find one that would balance the symbol's geometric structure. The logic and order that the symbol exemplified required a softer, more analog element that, when combined, would nod towards the relationship between the data platform and the patients it served.

When considering a letterform for the wordmark that would accompany the Fuse symbol, completing the logo, I sought to find one that would balance the symbol's underlying structure so deeply rooted in geometry and proportion. The logic and order that the symbol exemplified required a somewhat softer, more analog element that, when combined, would nod towards the relationship between the data platform and the patients it served.

The wordmark needed to hold its own visually while still supporting the foundational symbol, the heart of the brand. I found after many font auditions, one that was visually intriguing, yet not competitive. That font was Biome, by Carl Crossgrove. Sporting a polished, retro-futuristic look, while maintaining humanistic queues, it turned out to be the perfect compliment to the Fuse symbol.

The wordmark needed to hold its own visually while still supporting the foundational symbol, the heart of the brand. I found after many font auditions, one that was visually intriguing, yet not competitive. That font was Biome, by Carl Crossgrove. Sporting a slick retro-futuristic look, while maintaining humanistic queues, it turned out to be the perfect compliment to the Fuse symbol.

Symbol and wordmark logo lockup construction

Symbol and wordmark logo lockup construction

Final logo lockup

Final logo lockup

Logo variations in different settings (clockwise from upper left: primary, alternate, whitescale, grayscale)

Logo variations in different settings (clockwise from upper left: primary, alternate, whitescale, grayscale)