My Role
Illustration
My Role
Illustration
Client
Collective Health Inc.
Client
Collective Health Inc.
Health benefits made simple
Health benefits made simple
Health benefits made simple
Health benefits made simple
Health benefits made simple
Health insurance is often a complex maze of procedures and paperwork. Collective Health provides a streamlined solution for companies, enabling benefits leaders and employees to maximize their healthcare benefits.
Health insurance is often a complex maze of procedures and paperwork. Collective Health provides a streamlined solution for companies, enabling benefits leaders and employees to maximize their healthcare benefits.
Health insurance is often a complex maze of procedures and paperwork. Collective Health provides a streamlined solution for companies, enabling benefits leaders and employees to maximize their healthcare benefits.
When Collective Health initially contacted me, they were in the midst of a significant rebranding effort. Their existing illustration library fell short in conveying the more complex ideas behind healthcare and insurance in a way that resonated with their audience.
As someone with a passion for metaphors and delving into abstract concepts, I eagerly embraced the challenge. Healthcare was a new and intriguing subject for me to explore, and I saw this as an opportunity to bring fresh perspectives into it.
The kick off
The kick off
Brief and research
Brief and research
A new project always starts with dedicating time to understand the industry's challenges, terminology, and how the product serves its users.
Additionally, I focused on exploring Collective Health's recently updated visual style, including fonts, colors, imagery, and existing design elements. This initial research helped me imagine what style and storytelling would be a fit for the new illustration library.
Photography and design copyrights © Collective Health Inc.
Illustrations that fit in
Illustrations that fit in
Illustrations that fit in
Illustrations that fit in
Concept sketches and style exploration
Concept sketches and style exploration
Concept sketches and style exploration
Concept sketches and coloring
Getting started with the concept sketches, I looked for ways to bring some of the existing design elements into the illustrations as a way to bring the new assets close to the visual language that was already in place.
Initial brush and texture exploration
The vector vs. raster dilemma
At the start of the project the idea was to explore a style that is hand drawn and textured to bring contrast and a warm feeling to the otherwise not so welcoming topic of healthcare and insurance. The mood board from the brief featured different kinds of textures and patterns as well as brushy lines.
However, there are certain technical limitations when it comes to textured illustrations as they require a raster format of the files. While this works great for smaller batches of illustrations it can be challenging to create a full scale and flexible illustration system with rasters. The vector SVG format is incomparable here. It is easy to work with, developers love it and it takes seconds to change colors or implement any small changes of the composition.
Style exploration
Concept sketches and coloring
Concept sketches and coloring
Stepping into the style exploration, I already knew I had to stick to a vector format. In addition to the classic vector lines, that offer so much flexibility when it comes to illustration systems, I experimented with vector brushes and traced raster brushes, which came really close to an inky look.
Stepping into the style exploration, I already knew I had to stick to a vector format. In addition to the classic vector lines, that offer so much flexibility when it comes to illustration systems, I experimented with vector brushes and traced raster brushes, which came really close to an inky look.
In the beginning, I aimed to use just one or two accent colours alongside the neutral black and beige tones. However, it turned out that a more vibrant palette complemented the neat vector lines very well, achieving a more friendly look.
To ensure that the illustration system is flexible and works on both white and coloured backgrounds, we decided to adopt two different colouring approaches — one that utilizes the full colour palette and another that is monochrome to complement pastel backgrounds.
To ensure that the illustration system is flexible and works on both white and coloured backgrounds, we decided to adopt two different colouring approaches — one that utilizes the full colour palette and another that is monochrome to complement pastel backgrounds.
A modular approach
A modular approach
A modular approach
A modular approach
Production of the assets and organisation of the library
Production of the assets and organisation of the library
Production of the assets and organisation of the library
Production of the assets and organisation of the library
Production of the assets and organisation of the library
One of the main goals for the project was to build a library that can easily be used by in house designers to create new illustrations and compositions. We decided to follow a modular approach for the concepts where bigger illustrations could be broken down to smaller assets and combined in various compositions.
At the hand off, I named and organised the different types of assets so that they are easily searchable on Figma.
Photography and design copyrights © Collective Health Inc.
Photography and design copyrights © Collective Health Inc.
The home of great stories and ideas — Penguin Random House
The home of great stories and ideas — Penguin Random House
The home of great stories and ideas
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