Brand Reveal: Maughan Prosthetic & Orthotic
Maughan Prosthetic & Orthotic is a fast-growing small business in northwest Washington state. With two offices - one in Olympia and one in Silverdale - things are moving at a quick pace and MPO's owner, Justin Maughan wanted to ensure the professionalism of their marketing didn't fall through the cracks. When we first chatted about a potential rebrand, it was clear that the end goal was to create a uniform brand across both locations, their website, all communications... Justin wanted to ensure the MPO experience would be consistent as they grow.
Justin described MPO as young, eager and growing. Their business is a bit "old school," as Justin put it. All custom work and fabrication is done on site (while other companies in the field now outsource that work). Patients most often come to them via local physician referrals and usually fall in the ages 65+ demographic, including many veterans. Although it was important to keep this in mind as we moved forward with a brand and website, it was also key to think about MPO's business goals and where they're headed. Their intention is to reach beyond those referral sources and hopefully attract a younger demographic that perhaps lives a bit outside of their community. Justin stressed that this new audience is incredibly loyal, especially when they find quality care that can help them with their specialty needs.
This is where improving their marketing efforts comes in. Taking all this into consideration, it was important that we find a balance of classic and modern with their new look. Justin wanted a clean design that easily communicates hopefulness, confidence and their mission of "building better lives."
We started by collecting some visual inspiration and assembling a color palette that fit with this vision. The mood board to the right gives a glimpse into MPO's work in a literal way through the chosen photos, but also has a unifying feeling of hope, strength and warm energy. The colors definitely contribute to that - they have a great spirit yet are calming at the same time. I think the palette will work beautifully for them, as they implement their brand into their office decor and create a welcoming atmosphere for their patients.
This inspiration gathering process was key to our success as we moved forward into the design phase. The final logo design and brand styling suits MPO perfectly - a perfect blend of classic and modern. The college design student in me was secretly - or not so secretly - really excited about using the Didot typeface in the logo. You can't get much more classic than Didot (it was designed in the late 1700s-early 1800s!). It shows confidence, poise and detail, and it has an elegance to it that I've always loved. The font also contrasts really nicely with the sans serif fonts underneath - a perfect blend of classic and modern.
We were also able to add a bit of a modern flair and personal touch by integrating a handwritten font with the tagline into the logo variations. It was originally used on a different logo concept and Justin loved it, so we brought it over into the final design. The watermark and submarks add further depth with their circular shape and the incorporation of the tagline. They make great social media profile images, extra design elements on print materials, or maybe even buttons!
The colors are one of my favorite aspects of MPO's new brand - they really make everything come to life, offering the hopefulness and warmth we were going for, yet keeping things professional and grounded. They portray trust and they allow the patterns to bring a "fun" element to the brand styling without it going overboard (a fine line sometimes).
Another highlight is the design element/mark to the right, which abstractly represents a prosthetic running leg (do you see it!?). Similarly to the handwritten font, this element was originally part of a different logo concept, but I brought it into the final brand styling because of its uniqueness and connection with MPO's field of work.
As always, I'm looking forward to seeing this beautiful new visual brand thrive and help MPO present themselves as the polished, knowledgable small business they are. Can't wait to show off their new website that we're currently working on... it's absolutely gorgeous! Stay tuned - I'll update this post when it's live.
