We strive to make all the logos we design at Page Design timeless… but every logo, after fifteen years or so, can use a little modernizing.
Optima Healthcare Insurance Services is a great example of this. About a year ago Optima made plans to move into a new building and since they would need to reprint all their business correspondence with the new address, they decided it was the perfect time to update their logo. There is always a bit of anxiety over altering a mark that has been around for as long as Optima's has, but even Coca Cola and Prudential, two of the oldest and most recognized marks, have recognized the need to keep their brand current and continually make minor updates to their logos.
The original Optima logo was designed by Tracy Titus and Laurel Mathe over fifteen years ago and served the company well. As mentioned above, there was some anxiety involved in creating the new mark. So, we decided to show Optima several options from extremely minor to major, but all within the realm of an update and not a complete redesign. The idea was to keep the overall feel of the original while updating the colors and font. To the right is a sample of the original logo and the final revised logo. Among the changes you will see that we made changes to the fonts, color and mark.
The new Optima font is close to the original but has more pronounced serifs, is slightly thicker in weight and the letters are spaced closer together. This, along with the darker color, gives the word "Optima" a stronger presence. We kept the new colors similar to the original to ensure it would still fit in with existing marketing materials not scheduled to be reprinted. However, the new colors are stronger shades of purple and green, which reflect the strength and stability of Optima Healthcare. The colors also integrate well with the interior and exterior design of Optima's new building. The biggest change was to the mark itself. Rather than stacking the mark directly above the name, it is placed to the left, which gives the logo a less a-symmetric feel. We closed in the circle a little to make it look less like a "C" and more like an "O." We also altered the crane/mountain like shapes to make them appear more as abstract waves. The waves break out of the circle giving the mark a nice energy.
In the end, Optima decided on a logo with more dramatic changes than they had originally thought. Take a look at the images below to see the range of options that Page Design created. I think you will agree that they chose the best option. To learn more about Optima you can visit their website at www.optimahealthcare.com.
