The Joint Commission, the U.S. nonprofit that accredits and certifies healthcare organizations, introduced its current visual identity in January 2007. That rebranding accompanied a name change from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to The Joint Commission, and it brought new logos for both the parent organization and its affiliate Joint Commission Resources. [1]
Design and History
The 2007 identity was developed by Onoma Design (Roger van den Bergh) with brand consultancy Red Sky Insights (Anthony Bennett). According to consultant Anthony Bennett, research showed that perceptions of the organization were lagging and that its scope of activities had moved beyond accreditation alone. The decision was made to change the logo to signal those major changes and to clean up the brand architecture of its affiliate companies. [2]
The rebranding also introduced the tagline “Helping Health Care Organizations Help Patients.” [3] The name change was driven in part by the fact that the long formal name was generally reduced to the initials JCAHO, pronounced “Jayco.” The word “The” was included in the new name principally to discourage use of a “JC” abbreviation. [2]
The organization’s trademark filing describes the mark as consisting of the wording “THE JOINT COMMISSION” to the right of four touching triangles. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
According to Anthony Bennett, the four triangles in the logo were chosen to represent the Deming system of Plan, Do, Check, Act. They also represent the four protagonists involved in improving health care: the patient, the clinician, the healthcare organization, and The Joint Commission itself. [2]
Separate from the corporate logo, The Joint Commission maintains the Gold Seal of Approval, a proprietary mark that accredited and certified organizations may display as a mark of quality and patient safety. [5] The Gold Seal of Approval was added to accreditation certificates in the 1990s, around the same period the organization launched its ORYX performance measurement initiative. [6]
Typography and Design
The Joint Commission’s usage guidelines for the Gold Seal of Approval specify that it must be reproduced using a four-color process and that no graphic elements or devices may be added to it, including other words or slogans. [7] The Gold Seal was updated to reflect the new Joint Commission brand following the 2007 rebranding. [8]
Organizations that are accredited or certified may use the Gold Seal of Approval, but they are not permitted to use The Joint Commission’s corporate logo. [9] The corporate logo and the Gold Seal serve distinct purposes: the former identifies the organization itself, while the latter is the award mark displayed by accredited entities.
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