Reimagining Healthcare: Trellis Unveils Its New Identity Amid Cultural Shifts

A New Era in Healthcare

The rebranding of Trellis, a US healthcare app, embodies a significant cultural movement towards agency, continuity, and personalized care that adapts to the rhythms of real life. Navigating the US healthcare landscape has historically been fraught with challenges, as patients often encounter fragmented records across various providers and geographical locations. Communication failures among insurers further complicate the situation, placing the onus of care management often on families. A striking statistic from Trellis highlights this issue: 90% of women are currently using Apple Notes to manage their family’s healthcare—a cumbersome and chaotic solution that prompted a comprehensive redesign.

Transforming the Brand Identity

In a recent collaboration, How&How worked alongside Trellis to reposition the app as a more ambitious platform than merely a health administration tool. The new brand identity is built on the concept of a ‘living blueprint’, a dynamic system designed to evolve alongside users throughout their various life stages, from pregnancy to generational changes.

The Shift in Healthcare Expectations

This rebranding comes at a time when individuals are increasingly unwilling to relinquish control over their health. From monitoring fertility to engaging in preventive care, there is a growing demand for transparency and empowerment. Users now anticipate that digital tools provide not only data storage but also clarity and understanding of their health information.

Streamlined Health Management

The promise of Trellis is straightforward yet profound. The platform can consolidate years of medical history in mere minutes, transforming appointments, vaccinations, genetic information, and records into a cohesive, user-friendly overview. The concept of ‘Generational Health’ allows users to maintain a living archive of their health history that can be updated and passed down through generations. However, the previous branding did not adequately reflect the depth and sensitivity required to convey this evolving narrative.

Design Philosophy and Visual Identity

Senior creative Eilidh Reid articulates that the ‘living blueprint’ emerged from Trellis’ capacity to curate extensive medical data while adapting to each user’s unique journey. This design philosophy informed every decision, from system architecture to imagery and user interaction.

At the core of the new identity is a flexible grid system capable of adapting as users’ lives evolve. This structure provides a consistent yet adaptable framework for brand assets and product interfaces. Given the critical nature of healthcare data, accuracy is essential, yet the system is designed to allow for nuance and personalization, rather than confining users to rigid templates.

Visual Elements that Resonate

The brand’s visual narrative is enriched by a collection of natural, sunlit photography that authentically represents the realities of pregnancy and parenthood, avoiding the overly polished aesthetics common in many femtech and health-related branding. This visual approach showcases diverse family structures and life stages, emphasizing authenticity.

Texture plays a pivotal role in the identity, with a fingerprint motif symbolizing the uniqueness of each individual’s medical data. This motif appears subtly in backgrounds or more prominently across the brand, creating a connection between personal identity and healthcare data.

A Unique Voice in Healthcare Communication

The tone of voice within the Trellis brand reflects a careful balance between professionalism and approachability. Instead of the typical clinical detachment or forced warmth seen in many healthcare brands, Trellis adopts what How&How describes as the ‘Voice of the Midwife’. This direct, supportive communication style offers information candidly and without unnecessary jargon.

Eilidh notes that this approach aligns with the brand strategy—Trellis occupies a unique space at the intersection of data-driven technology and deeply personal experiences, allowing both to coexist harmoniously.

Conclusion: A Reflection of Ongoing Change

The new identity of Trellis mirrors a broader transformation in how we perceive health: moving from an episodic and institutional view to one that is continuous and deeply personal. While Trellis does not purport to remedy the complexities of the US healthcare system overnight, it recognizes the challenges many face and offers a clearer framework to navigate them. In doing so, Trellis truly lives up to its tagline: ‘the Mother of all healthcare apps’.