Kidney Buds
Year:
2025
Deliverables:
Brand Strategy
Visual Identity
Custom Illustrations
Industry:
Health Care, Paediatrics, Nephrology
Location:
Johannesburg, South Africa
Kidney Buds is a paediatric nephrology unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The department required an identity system that communicated both clinical credibility & emotional reassurance. The brand needed to feel calm and reassuring for parents and young patients, while still being trusted and taken seriously within a hospital setting.
The Result
A considered identity system that balances warmth with professionalism, giving Kidney Buds a visual language that feels reassuring without being informal or patronising.
Custom illustrations and a flexible toolkit allow the brand to be applied confidently across medical documentation, staff materials, and patient-focused touchpoints, supporting clear communication at every stage of care.
Discovery
I spent time understanding where families and staff would interact with the brand most — from letters and forms to spaces where children spend time waiting and receiving care.
Direction
Rather than leaning into typical clinical visuals, the direction focused on simplicity, softness, and clarity. This ensured the brand could feel welcoming and human, while still remaining appropriate and trustworthy within a hospital context.
Design
The identity draws from early kidney development, translated into simple, organic forms that feel gentle and approachable rather than technical or literal. The logo and illustration system were designed to help make complex ideas feel less intimidating, particularly for children, while colour and typographic choices prioritised calmness, legibility, and ease of use across materials.
Extension
The system was applied across both internal and patient-facing touchpoints, with clear guidelines to ensure consistency without rigidity. From stationery and staff materials to items used by children and families, the identity was designed to remain clear, supportive, and cohesive in practice.
01. Balancing medical credibility with reassurance
Challenge:
The brand needed to feel calm and supportive for families, without compromising trust or professionalism in a clinical environment.
Solution:
Visual structure and clarity were used to anchor credibility, while warmth was introduced through controlled use of colour, illustration, and form. This allowed the identity to feel reassuring without becoming informal or overly playful.
02. Making complex information feel approachable
Challenge:
Medical concepts can feel overwhelming, especially for children and non-medical audiences.
Solution:
Kidney development was translated into simplified visual forms that communicate ideas without relying on technical language or medical clichés. This helped reduce fear while keeping the work grounded in real science.
03.Ensuring consistency across varied touchpoints
Challenge:
The identity needed to work across a wide range of applications, from formal documentation to more informal patient-facing materials.
Solution:
A modular visual system was created, allowing flexibility where needed while maintaining consistency in tone, hierarchy, and layout across every use case.
