polaris

HIV DET logo and BRANDING

My first job on the HIV Digital Engagement Team at Merck was to conduct the development of our internal branding. I started by leading a session where we determined our vision for the team, our characteristics, and overall essence. We came up with the name “Polaris,” meaning the North Star. The Polaris logo had to be simple - it had to work in any color as well as any size and resolution, as it had to be used everywhere from tiny icons on PowerPoints to large posters at conventions. Like a real star, this logo maintains form viewed either up close or very far away. This logo represents both a “north star” as well as intersecting viewpoints. Our team came from many different professional backgrounds, and our strength grew from combining our areas of expertise together to create something new and spectacular. This was represented by the negative space, or “light,” in the middle of the design.

Color scheme

I used the aurora borealis or “northern lights” as my inspiration for our color scheme. I wanted it to stand out from Merck’s teal brand, as well as from the other teams. I went with vivid pinks, purples, and a bright yellow, balanced out by more neutral blues. These were all picked out from images of the northern lights, and later balanced to flow together. I used the logo to create icons for each of my teammates by embedding their initials and giving them each a hue from our color scheme.