primal physical therapy & Sports medicine
How Primal Physical Therapy’s rebrand helped Dr. Tim unleash his unique approach to sports medicine
Brand Development | Website Design
Before Dr. Tim Swenson was my client, I was his patient.
I met Tim at large physical therapy practice where I went for an evaluation of my hip, which had become painful enough to keep me out of the yoga studio. The benefit of our paths crossing was mutual; my hip was rehabilitated and I got to know Tim as person as well as a PT. When my therapy ended, I sent Tim a hand-written note thanking him for his expertise and assumed that was the end of our relationship.
To my surprise, Tim contacted me a few weeks later and asked me if I could help him brand his new practice, Primal Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine. While he appreciated the experience gained from the large PT practice where I first met him, Tim wanted to strike out on his own and focus on helping young athletes recover from sports injuries and train them to perform at their highest possible level. Part of Tim’s passion came from empathy; his own experience of a debilitating injury and subsequent surgeries as a young basketball player and the long journey of recovery.
Developing a unique brand identity
The name Primal came from Tim’s focus on basic human biomechanics and “releasing the beast” (as he refers to it) in every athlete to perform their best. I was glad the name had a built-in hook to create a visual around. It can be difficult sometimes to work with generic terms like “performance” or “advanced” because they’re so open-ended.
Since Tim already had a well-developed mission, vision, and core values I dove into Primal’s brand identity and started my visual exploration with four themes:
primal/fundamental
evolution of mechanics
inner beast/athlete
active/healthy lifestyle
Primal theme board (above), early “evolution” concept (top right), and early “cave drawing” concept (bottom right)
I presented two possible directions to Tim: one that featured an “evolution of man” illustration with a jump-shot basketball player at the end, and another concept with a primitive-style cave drawing of a basketball player performing a layup shot. We both agreed that the evolution of man concept was a bit too complex but the cave drawing concept would be unique in Tim’s market space. Much of his competition had logos displaying arbitrary swooshes, knock-off Vitruvian figures, or combinations of both.
I refined my cave drawing concept and paired it with an appropriately primitive-looking font. I always provide my clients with an identity system, rather than a single logo, because it allows them a lot of flexibility in applying their visual brand. For Tim’s primary logo, I settled on a triangular arrangement of the figure atop the name which gave it a strong, dynamic shape. We explored several color palettes but settled on a dark red and warm gray combination, again bucking convention and steering clear of the blues and greens that dominate the physical therapy and healthcare market.
Putting the brand into action
Tim didn’t waste any time producing merchandise and signage for his new workspace (I’m still waiting for my free t-shirt). It’s always great to see clients excited about their new brand; showing it off like pictures of a newborn baby to anyone who’ll stand still long enough. For me, this excitement means that I’ve truly connected with their authentic brand which is the entire reason I do what I do.
After completing the visual identity, we moved on to build a new website in which we combined the Primal brand elements with Tim’s written content and a fresh batch of branded photos, courtesy of W. Parmentier Photography. The new website has proven to be a great marketing tool for Tim, introducing him to the public as a unique independent practitioner, displaying his enthusiasm and commitment, and establishing his expertise through client testimonials.
“Justin and I met in the very early stages of my business, came together and created a vision. His creative ability and intuitiveness were apparent from the get-go, and he’s been an absolute blessing to work with. Not only does he do great work — he truly cares and asks the right questions to understand the “why” behind my business. He doesn’t leave any stone unturned.”
Tim has been very pleased with the outcome of his brand identity and new website. It’s provided a stable marketing base for his business and a unique visual brand among his competition. I always enjoy watching an entrepreneur’s dream take shape and become reality. I’m honored to have been part of Primal’s inception and launch and, hopefully, I won’t need Dr. Tim’s help any time soon with my hip.
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