Suncoast Hospice had grown well beyond hospice. I led the brand through its move to Empath Health, with a nautilus identity designed to keep taking in what came next, through a merger, an integration and counting.
Empath Health, formerly Suncoast Hospice
Nonprofit health care
Creative direction, brand development
Twelve
The organization had outgrown hospice. Its name needed to hold everything it now offered, and whatever came next.
Lead with the disposition, not the department. Empathy keeps working as the services change.
One name that has since taken in two more organizations without needing a new one.
A nautilus adds a new chamber at each stage of its life and keeps every one. So did this brand.
01 Before
Suncoast Hospice had expanded into a broader range of care and support. A name built on one service had started to feel small.
The original identity
02 The name
A name built on function expires the moment the offering changes. Empath Health traded the specificity of hospice for the durability of empathy.
Naming
03 The mark
A nautilus grows by adding chambers while carrying its whole history with it. It is also a protective structure built around something soft, a fitting shape for an organization rooted in hospice care.
Identity
04 The color
The palette runs from purple at the edge into pink, magenta and orange at the center. The lowercase wordmark stays quiet, so the mark can carry the feeling.
Color and type
05 In the world
Posters put caregivers at the center of the spiral, with lines like Joy Finding, Life Giving and Health Caring.
Campaign
Today the organization offers twelve service lines, from home health to grief services to HIV and sexual wellness, and none of them feel awkward under this name.
After the 2021 merger with Stratum and the integration with Trustbridge, now Florida’s largest nonprofit hospice network, the name is still doing its job. It was built to keep holding new additions.
