![](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/frd_id_hero_320.jpg)
![](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/frd_id_hero_1280x432.jpg)
Positioning a healthcare consultancy for growth
Freed Associates is a team of experienced consultants that specialize in healthcare management, operations, and IT services for hospitals and providers across California. Freed emphasizes a healthy work-life balance for their consultants and is consistently voted one of the best places to work in the Bay Area.
After more than 20 years in business, Freed Associates hired Manmade to rebrand the consultancy and support their expansion into new services and territories. We helped Freed define their brand, developed a new corporate identity system, and redesigned their website.
Services
- Competitive Analysis
- Brand Strategy
- Content Strategy
- Information Architecture
- Identity Design
- Web Design
![frd_id_logodeliverable_1280x560 frd_id_logodeliverable_1280x560](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/01-logo/frd_id_logodeliverable_1280x560.png)
![frd_id_logodeliverable_320 frd_id_logodeliverable_320](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/01-logo/frd_id_logodeliverable_320.png)
Communicating the value
Before beginning the visual design process, we needed to be able to verbally articulate what makes Freed Associates unique. We worked with their leadership team and consultants to clarify and define Freed’s essential value proposition. Through interviews, content audits, and brainstorming exercises, we cataloged the many characteristics of Freed and the way they work. By the end of this process, we had distilled these down to a core set of 5 brand attributes: dedicated, empathic, expert, principled, and skilled navigator.
![frd_id_processclaire_512x576 frd_id_processclaire_512x576](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/02-essence/frd_id_processclaire_512x576.jpg)
![frd_id_processbrandattributedistillation_768x288 frd_id_processbrandattributedistillation_768x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/02-essence/frd_id_processbrandattributedistillation_768x288.jpg)
![frd_id_processbrandattributedistillation_320 frd_id_processbrandattributedistillation_320](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/02-essence/frd_id_processbrandattributedistillation_320.jpg)
Visualizing wisdom
To design the logo, we researched and explored forms that would evoke the brand attributes and essence. The attributes principled, skilled, and expert conjured images of craftsmen and the maker’s mark. The idea of wisdom is conveyed across cultures through the use of symmetrical, circular forms. Our combination of these concepts led to the creation of the Freed seal—a mark of experience and quality.
![frd_id_moodboards_768x346 frd_id_moodboards_768x346](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/04-symbol-design/frd_id_moodboards_768x346.jpg)
![frd_id_logosealsketches_256x288 frd_id_logosealsketches_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/04-symbol-design/frd_id_logosealsketches_256x288.jpg)
![frd_id_logosealprocess_512x288 frd_id_logosealprocess_512x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/04-symbol-design/frd_id_logosealprocess_512x288.png)
Finding the right type
Selecting the perfect typeface is a key part of the identity design process. For Freed, we narrowed the search to Rooney Pro, a serif face with a modern feel. Soft, rounded terminals make the typeface approachable without compromising its gravitas. The font’s designer, Jan Fromm, fine-tuned the type and worked with us to create a custom wordmark.
![frd_id_logoprocesswordmark_512x288 frd_id_logoprocesswordmark_512x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/05-identity-design/frd_id_logoprocesswordmark_512x288.jpg)
![frd_id_wordmarkprocessoverlay_256x288 frd_id_wordmarkprocessoverlay_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/05-identity-design/frd_id_wordmarkprocessoverlay_256x288.png)
![frd_id_wordmarkprocessoverlay_320 frd_id_wordmarkprocessoverlay_320](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/05-identity-design/frd_id_wordmarkprocessoverlay_320.png)
![frd_id_wordmark_512x288 frd_id_wordmark_512x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/05-identity-design/frd_id_wordmark_512x288.png)
Setting the tone
Blue and orange were already being used by Freed for their website and collateral. Our research found that this palette was both differentiated from competitors and also appropriate for the new brand definition—orange is the color of wisdom and illumination, and blue evokes trust. We updated and modernized the color palette with a richer blue, a brighter orange, and a suite of secondary colors.
![FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule2_256x288 FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule2_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/06-color-palette/FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule2_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule3_512x288 FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule3_512x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/06-color-palette/FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule3_512x288.png)
![FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule4_512x288 FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule4_512x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/06-color-palette/FRD_ID_BrandExtensionModule4_512x288.png)
![frd_id_bcardfronthandheld_512x576 frd_id_bcardfronthandheld_512x576](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/06-color-palette/frd_id_bcardfronthandheld_512x576.png)
![frd_id_logofinal_768x576 frd_id_logofinal_768x576](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/06-color-palette/frd_id_logofinal_768x576.png)
![frd_id_logofinal_320 frd_id_logofinal_320](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/06-color-palette/frd_id_logofinal_320.png)
Building the online presence
One of the first applications of the new Freed Associates identity is their website. Built on a customized WordPress backend, the site features case studies, white papers, articles, and commentary that help to establish Freed as a thought leader within the healthcare consulting industry.
![FRD_ID_WebsiteLaptopAndIpad_1280x576 FRD_ID_WebsiteLaptopAndIpad_1280x576](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteLaptopAndIpad_1280x576.png)
![frd_id_websitelaptop_320 frd_id_websitelaptop_320](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/frd_id_websitelaptop_320.jpg)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule1_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule1_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule1_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule2_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule2_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule2_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule3_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule3_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule3_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule4_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule4_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule4_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule5_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule5_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule5_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule6_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule6_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule6_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule7_512x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule7_512x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule7_512x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule8_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule8_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule8_256x288.png)
![FRD_ID_WebsiteModule9_256x288 FRD_ID_WebsiteModule9_256x288](http://manmade.com/content/01-work/05-freed-associates-rebranding/07-website-design/FRD_ID_WebsiteModule9_256x288.png)
Freed Associates