Unifying a Fragmented Enterprise Brand
Impact Strip
- Unified 12+ centers around a shared enterprise visual system
- Supported 10,000+ staff with scalable brand tools and guidance
- Achieved 95% brand adoption across the organization
- Reduced off-brand usage by 40%
- Drove rapid adoption across 20+ divisions within the first month
Details below
Challenge
CDC’s visual identity had become inconsistent across its 12+ centers, with pandemic-era urgency accelerating fragmentation. Logos were misused, templates were outdated, and communications lacked cohesion at a time when clarity and trust were critical.
The objective wasn't to create a new brand. It was to build a practical system that made it easier for thousands of people to communicate consistently, accessibly, and with confidence.
Turning Fragmentation Into a Scalable System
Before redesigning anything, I needed to understand why the existing system was breaking down. I led a comprehensive audit across web, print, social, and presentation assets, mapping patterns of fragmentation and identifying where the existing identity was failing teams in practice.
I made a deliberate choice to build for endurance over trend — refining typography, color, and layout foundations that could flex across 20+ divisions without breaking. Accessibility validation and senior stakeholder alignment were built into the process from the start, not retrofitted at the end.
The system couldn't succeed through standards alone. It had to make the right behavior easier. I led development of a scalable template ecosystem across Adobe Express, reports, fact sheets, social, and presentations—giving designers and non-design staff practical tools to create high-quality, on-brand communication without rebuilding from scratch.
The final phase was rebuilding the CDC Brand Hub — overhauling information architecture, governance documentation, and asset access so the system could continue scaling long after launch.
Impact
The refreshed identity became CDC's shared visual language, giving more than 10,000 employees a clearer and more accessible foundation for communicating with partners, healthcare professionals, and the public. Adoption reached 95%, with off-brand usage declining 40%, because the system reduced complexity rather than simply introducing more rules.
Templates and self-service tools also made branded communication faster and more accessible to teams across the organization. The result was not simply a more cohesive visual identity, but a stronger enterprise communication system—one that made it easier for teams across CDC to communicate clearly, consistently, and with greater confidence.
My Role
As Director, Design & Campaigns, I translated an enterprise communication challenge into a cohesive brand strategy—co-leading research, creative direction, system design, stakeholder alignment, governance, and rollout across 20+ divisions.
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