Logo Policy Development

Dear Colleagues:

To thrive in the increasingly competitive healthcare marketplace, NYU Medical Center must maintain a strong institutional identity. Yet today, there are forces at work that run counter to that overarching requirement. As we continue to develop vibrant specialty programs and look toward our imminent merger with Hospital for Joint Diseases, the understandable eagerness to build recognition among referring physicians, as well as the general public, has led with growing frequency to the creation of individual graphic identities.

I ask each of you to step back for a moment and consider the wider implications of this trend: overall, a sense of clutter rather than cohesion, and of cacophony rather than carefully orchestrated themes. The risk is a proliferation of program personalities that –in vying for attention—compete with, and thus detract from, one another, while at the same time diluting the impact of the whole.

 At this juncture, that is a risk we simply cannot afford.

 I have therefore asked Lynn Odell, in her new role as Vice Dean and Vice President for Communication & Public Affairs, to help us redress the situation by revising institutional guidelines that clarify the use of names and logos, and working with you to brand the initiatives you lead. As Lynn’s collaborative spirit and devotion to the common good are recognized across the Medical Center, I trust that you will offer her your full cooperation.

While that new structure is being developed, a moratorium on the development of new logos will be in force. I rely on your help and understanding in this sensitive area. At stake is our shared identity, the invaluable asset that ultimately defines us all.

 Thank you.