Northwest Addiction Treatment is a substance abuse treatment center. They set themselves apart by employing a unique treatment approach that combines The Matrix Model of Addiction Treatment with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Their belief is that both of these evidence based therapies, when combined, have unique strengths in battling mental health and addiction struggles. Ultimately, their desire is for those who need treatment to have an accessible arena to pursue recovery on an individualized basis.
When working for an agency, especially when it’s not a creative agency, it’s difficult to walk the tightrope of expectations. When it came to this project in particular, timing was everything. The process that I employ in my freelance projects would take more time than the agency would allow; they wanted this whole brand identity project wrapped up in 12 working hours at the most. Therefore, I had to make cuts on my process (which would make identifying and solving the client problems difficult without the adequate amount of time required to do so).
In the Discovery process, I learned a fair amount about the client. They were very much into holistic treatment, granola lifestyle, and loved the feel of brands like LuluLemon, REI, Apple, and others. When we constructed a target consumer, this became more apparent. Directly following our discovery session, I had about three hours to put together a stylescape with the assurance of one round of revisions. It was crucial to get this right while also reassuring them that this review was about getting the look and feel correct. In short, I did.
We went with a look and feel that emphasized empathy, approachability, and safety. I went with a simple type that was easy on the eyes as well as a color pallet that felt tranquil. As far as photography was concerned, I implemented some outdoorsy photos that felt as though they came from the tumblr era of granola lifestyle. I also included CTA and button styles that could be used on the site.
When it came to the logo, there were plenty of ideas I’d brainstormed. Ultimately, I came up with four different designs. Each of these designs were intentionally simplistic; this simplicity evoked a sense of calm, and this sense of calm made space for approachability.
The client loved each of these concepts, but ultimately came back with one thing to add… they saw a design on a water bottle at an REI store and wanted to retrofit it to match their aesthetic (shown directly below).
Full disclosure, I said no. However, the agency I work for insisted we meet the client’s desires. My hands were tied, but the agency was right. It’s important to meet the client’s needs, even if that means heading back to the drawing board. I designed this mark, and, to my surprise, the client loved it. I've included the full color mockup at the very bottom below the black and white version of the final mark.
In addition to the brand identity system and corporate identity guide we delivered, we also delivered letterhead templates, business card designs, email signatures, and sticker designs (a bit simplistic on the deliverables, yes, I am aware).
