Falck is an international market leader in emergency response and healthcare. The company provides more than 10 million ambulance, assistance and healthcare services annually with 30,000 employees working across 30 countries.
Years of acquisitions and diversification had resulted in a fragmented organization with weak value creation, and significant changes were necessary to ensure survival. A ‘One Falck’ vision was launched and Falck approached us with the goal of enabling them to act with confidence, speak with clarity and pave the road for a successful and focused business.
Our collaboration has resulted in a revitalized and unifying brand strategy. A core narrative under the brand idea ‘Turning care into action’ supported by Falck’s promise ‘There when you need us’. In addition, we have developed Falck’s visual identity, tone of voice, and corporate website, as well as an extensive brand guideline covering everything from stationery, financial reports, presentation framework, business explainers, video and digital to wayfinding and livery.
Deliverables
Brand strategy
Visual identity
Tone of voice
Brand guidelines
Digital framework
Spatial design
Livery
Logo evolution
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A legacy brand
In 1906, Sofus Falck founded Falck, with the mission to always provide help knowing that ‘quick assistance is twice the assistance’. The Falck symbol derives from the founder’s last name, which translates to Falcon in English. The falcon is a powerful bird that lives throughout the world and is a symbol of speed, agility, overview and loyalty.
The logo
Through extensive research, we iterated ideas and designs in close collaboration with Corporate Communication and Falck’s management. Culture, heritage and a very prominent physical appearance combined with a digital first approach resulted in choosing evolution over revolution. We set out to redesign the Falck logo to reflect the agility and confidence of the organization whilst leveraging its long and proud legacy. In doing so, we optimized the logo’s visibility and digital usability readying Falck for an increasingly digital future.
Colour palette
Strongly associated with Falck and expressing urgency, passion and human touch, the color red was maintained as the primary brand color in an otherwise simplified palette. Coupled with blues and yellow to reflect emergency and response, the color system adds vibrancy to the Falck brand universe.
Colour system
Strongly associated with Falck and expressing urgency, passion and human touch, the color red was maintained as the primary brand color in an otherwise simplified palette. Coupled with blues and yellow to reflect emergency and response, the color system adds vibrancy to the Falck brand universe.
Typographic system
The corporate typeface was chosen for its geometric appearance, modern proportions, and flexibility in expression. Its robust, yet tender design mirrors the assurance and empathy with which Falck meets the world.
Global implementation
Connecting stakeholder touchpoints, the revitalized Falck brand was rolled out across multiple channels creating a seamless experience both off- and online. Carefully designing the stakeholder journey from global to local and all the way through to end-user touchpoints such as first-responder uniforms was a crucial step in unifying Falck not only externally, but internally as well.
”I have worked with the Make team on several rebranding projects over recent seven years. Not many rethink brand better than they do. They push boundaries, they work to the highest standard, and they are sometime terribly annoying when persisting on ideas. However, I would do it all over again … anytime”
Kaspar Bach Habersaat, Falck, Vice President Global Branding & Communications
Digital universe
Falck’s digital landscape consists of multiple sites covering more than 30 country sites that cater to a variety of stakeholders. Helping Falck streamline its digital presence in favor of a more centralized approach, we worked closely together with internal stakeholders across Falck’s business areas to inform decisions on structure and content. We created a digital design system implemented on EpiServer that allows editors across markets flexibility for local content requirements within a shared framework.
A branded environment
Extending the new Falck brand into its physical environment on buildings, vehicles and uniforms required a clear and simple design balancing the need for a consistent expression across borders with considerate adaptation to local needs.
Iconography
A collection of bespoke icons was created to represent specific areas of Falck’s business, an individual service, or to support a specific message. Inspired by the open lines used in the Falck logo, the iconography is kept simply to be easily understood.
Imagery
A people-centric image style with a warm and natural tonality was developed. By depicting people pulling together to help others in times of crisis, the imagery tells stories of the expertise, empathy and commitment required to turn care into action.
Proud winner of
2020 REBRAND 100