NHG Health Rebrand: Double Dosage

The stringy figure beefed up ➰

Side note: I also wrote a reaction piece to the criticism of the rebrand

National Healthcare Group has refreshed its brand identity, which included a name change and logo update, in celebration of its 25th anniversary. As the Regional Health Manager for Central and North Singapore, it serves over 1.5 million residents across its network of healthcare institutions, comprising hospitals, polyclinics, specialist centres and more.

Double the Health

Abbreviating its name, National Healthcare Group will now be known as NHG Health, which it says “reflects its commitment to creating a more integrated and seamless healthcare system”.

Adding “Health” to the name clarifies the brand focus for those unfamiliar with the abbreviation, but also makes it slightly awkward as H is already supposed to stand for health(care). NHG Health joins DBS Bank and OCBC Bank in having redundant letters in their brand names.

NHG Health is taking this in its stride by saying that “double the health is good health”. Until the NHG name reaches ubiquitous status as healthcare brands like the NHS, “Health” stays for now.

For the Love of Dots

NHG Health’s brand family shares a consistent visual language: stylised human forms, with dots or ovals symbolising heads.

NHG Health described its previous logo as a “visual and symbolic representation of a person, with arms raised, embracing and celebrating life. The raised head, outstretched arms, and full body symbolise energy, dynamism and optimism.”

The new logo continues this aesthetic, modernising the human-like figure to be more effective for digital and print.

“Our new name and look - a vibrant individual journeying along the River of Life, symbolizing our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our residents - represent a renewed focus on person-centered care. This means better coordination between our hospitals, polyclinics, specialty centres and community partners, reducing stress and improving overall experience.” -NHG Health

The new logo channels the same spirit of its predecessor, from its upward stance to the colour scheme. By using solid shapes to form the figure, the logo has enough visual weight to look good on small digital screens.

Dark blue-teal gradients seem to be the focus of the new brand identity as seen in its refreshed brand collateral. The colour scheme is soothing to the eye and provides a good contrast to SingHealth’s bright orange corporate colour.

Overall, this rebrand is an example of keeping up with the times. 25 years after using the same logo (with a minor change in 2012), NHG Health recognised the need for a refresh and delivered. While the new logo is not groundbreaking, it pays homage to the old look and signals its readiness to start a new chapter of providing healthcare for a rapidly-aging Singapore population.

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