Good health and prosperity

Asked to describe a typical identity in the medical service sector, most of us would rifle out the word ‘minimalist’. So what does Anglo-German consultancy Thomas Manss & Company do when briefed to create an identity for MeoClinic, a new health clinic planned for Berlin? It swivels 180 degrees and comes up with a logo for semiotics experts to chew over for hours.

But the use of the phoenix in this identity shows the designer to have a sophisticated understanding of the healthcare marketplace, and his client’s place within it.

‘It is no accident that the elegant calligraphic phoenix at the centre of the MeoClinic identity would be appropriate as a symbol for a luxury hotel,’ says a spokeswoman for Thomas Manss & Company. The consultancy’s London and German offices both worked on the brief, with the design solution coming out of the London office.

When it opens later this year the luxury private hospital will supply the quality end of the market, servicing the same target audience as a top class hotel. In addition, both offer accommodation, even if it is under very different circumstances.

Thus it made perfect sense for the design concept to seize visual cues from the hotel vernacular. ‘Heraldic and hand-crafted, the phoenix emphasises that personal service, comfortable surroundings and the well being of guest-patients are paramount,’ says consultancy partner Thomas Manss.

The identity will be implemented on stationery, signage, pencils, crystal glasses, shirts and a special bag.

If successful, the clinic concept will be rolled out worldwide. The phoenix comes in useful here, says Manss, being a ‘universal symbol of eternal youth and rejuvenation with mythological counterparts in most cultures’.

Designer: Thomas Manss & Company

Client: MeoClinic