Strong Start

Logo + Branding
Washington State Department of Health

Health care providers and early childhood professionals use developmental screening to determine whether a child is meeting important developmental milestones in areas such as communication, social skills, and motor skills. Screenings help detect any concerns early, when intervention is most effective. The Washington State Department of Health developed the Strong Start system to track and encourage screenings. This system will help increase screening rates, connect families to supportive services, and improve equity in screenings and referrals.

Concepting & Brand Development

For Strong Start, I began with four concepts focused on different depictions of growth, transformation and strength, and started with a colorful palette based on an earlier graphic the program had created to explain the structure of the new system. In each of the concepts, I was able to find ways to work in the S letterform into the icon.

The first concept was the one icon that the clients had asked to see specifically. The butterfly is one of the most iconic symbols of growth and transformation.

Concept two was a baby elephant, a child-like depiction of one of the strongest animals on earth. In several cultures, trunks pointing upward is considered a sign of strength and good luck.

Concept three was a stack of building blocks, one of the quintessential toys for learning and development.

Concept four was a sun, which promotes growth and makes life possible.

After the first large review, the building blocks concept was the clear favorite among staff and stakeholders. From there, I created three variations looking at the number of blocks in the stack. The clients chose the four-piece stack with the two-tone S blocks. Then we compared four playful color palettes.

In the end, the primary color palette was chosen. This palette was inspired by the classic toy itself, and is the foundation of the color wheel.