Since corporate wellness is a catchall for so many things, the challenge rests not with expressing each idea but encapsulating all relevant ideas in a powerful way. Doing so is more about visual command than verbal control, meaning if a company seeks to promote its commitment to wellness; if it has a message of singular importance it wants to deliver to its workers; if it wants its message to work, it must have a symbol and it must have a logo- that says all of these things without saying a word.
Please: Do not treat a logo as something too superficial for you to see. Do not treat it as a sight unworthy of your time, because of the false belief that no logo can attract or retain your attention. On the contrary, having reviewed several healthcare logos, I now know that design (not the devil, but the devilish nature of the job itself) is in the details; it is everything a logo represents, from the choice and arrangement of colors to the effect it has on the viewer.
Bear in mind, however, that a logo is a sign on behalf of corporate wellness, not a substitute for it. It does not suffice for what does not, in fact, exist-corporate wellness itself, with its many programs and policies, in addition to its multitude of incentives and its catalog of initiatives. But, as I have seen in the course of my own research, the more iconic a logo is, the more likely I am to recall its image.
Therein lies the point of this discussion: the need to make an impression- a lasting one- so wellness can appeal to the head by way of the heart. If a logo elicits feelings of safety and trust, if it connects with people on an emotional level, it will resonate with an audience on an intellectual level.
It will do what neither a medical report nor an academic study has yet to achieve. It will heighten people's curiosity about this material, provided they want to read this content in the first place; provided, in other words, there is, first and foremost, a way to pique their interest.
The right logo is the tool for winning this contest. By contest, I mean we must communicate so much in so little space- and people must be able to translate what they see into what we want them to know-regarding corporate wellness.
This approach should sharpen our message and strengthen our success as communicators. It is, at a minimum, a concise path to a clear end: greater awareness of corporate wellness in general and a company's attempt to realize a healthy workforce in particular.
- Let us champion this cause, so what we see inspires us to act.
- Let us act to make corporate wellness the priority it should be- the necessity it must be- so we may be healthier in mind and body.
- Let us act with all deliberate speed, so we will be advocates of wellness in our own right.
About the Author
Lawrence Engler is a historian and wellness enthusiast. An author and columnist for The Huffington Post, he also holds an MBA in Financial Analytics. Lawrence resides in Western Massachusetts. You may reach him at engler.lawrence@gmail.com.
