Updated Talkspace brand identity unveiled, via Koto
Koto has officially shared the updated brand identity for behavioural healthcare provider, Talkspace.
The announcement:
Brand and digital studio Koto reveals Talkspace’s updated brand identity. The refreshed design embodies Talkspace’s fundamental belief that therapy and mental health support should be integrated positively into everyone’s lives. It emphasizes the importance of ensuring access to high-quality mental health services for all individuals. The revitalized brand spans marketing, website and campaign elements, highlighting the value of therapy experiences and promoting mental health.
Talkspace Journey: Empowering Well-being
Since its inception in 2012, Talkspace has transformed from offering group therapy to becoming a premier provider of online psychotherapy. Introducing Unlimited Messaging Therapy in 2014, it enabled text-based sessions via its website or app. Notably, demand soared during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued thereafter, with an exponential rise in therapy. Today, Talkspace is accessible to more than 130 million people, offering therapy via smartphones, tablets, or desktops, with communication options including video, audio, and text.
Recent CDC data underscores a significant increase in Americans seeking mental health treatment. Between 2019 and 2021, there was a notable rise in people seeking mental health care across all adults and specifically among those aged 18–44, with women in this demographic more likely to seek treatment than men.
Koto’s comprehensive rebrand aimed to reflect Talkspace’s 12-year evolution and the increasing accessibility and normalization of therapy. Anchored in the Brand Idea ‘Make sense of it’, the new Talkspace emphasizes that mental health care should be a regular practice, whether for navigating daily life challenges or addressing trauma or serious mental health conditions. The Talkspace brand personality embodies the principle of ‘Sense Maker’, assuring members that Talkspace is a trusted partner in navigating life’s chaos and clutter, at a pace that suits each individual. This ethos is reflected in key messaging, infused with emotional intelligence and empowerment, such as “Make space for a shift in perspective” or “Make space for every emotion,” positioning Talkspace as the go-to platform for expressing feelings, finding solace, and cultivating new perspectives.
A New Design System to Find Your Space
At the heart of Talkspace’s fresh look lies a redesigned brand symbol and refined logo, embodying the essence of the new brand concept while bringing space and clarity through its simplicity. Specifically, the T-shaped brand symbol signifies the versatility and adaptability of therapy, creating room for individuals to make sense of their experiences. The brand wordmark, a vital component of Talkspace’s identity, exudes warmth with its rounded serifs, yet maintains clarity through squared forms in the ascenders, visually connecting with the brand symbol.
Talkspace’s color palette comprises ten expressive and uplifting colors, breathing life into their identity. The Primary palette features two shades of turquoise – Truth Teal and Trust Teal, while the Secondary palette offers eight colors – Chalk, Pink, Green, Black, Orange, Blue, Lemon, and Maroon, strategically crafted to complement the primary palette across brand communications materials.
Inspired by the concept of finding and creating one’s space, the design system revolves around the T-shaped brand symbol, serving as a versatile framework for content – both visually and verbally. Typography plays a pivotal role in conveying Talkspace’s brand values of clarity, emotion, and rigor across all communications. The new brand embraces Exposure for headline typefaces, a soft serif with various weights, ideal for spotlighting moments of feeling and clarity. Complementing this is Oldschool Grotesk, a modern Sans Serif with playful details, adding depth and precision to content-rich environments.
Talkspace’s illustration style encompasses two distinct styles: spot and hero. Spot illustrations lean towards functionality, ideal for product scenarios where core ideas are communicated in isolation. On the other hand, hero illustrations evoke emotion, narrating stories, and providing context to the communicated narrative. These illustrations feature full scenes, while the icon style mirrors Talkspace’s illustration style, embracing line work reminiscent of hand-drawn sketches, with line breaks resembling natural pen strokes. Art Direction style is honest, emotive and true, capturing diverse Talkspace members within natural settings, underscoring that mental health care is an integral part of everyday life.
“We’ve transformed our brand identity to both reflect and celebrate shifts in the mental health landscape, especially the normalization of therapy and mental health conversations, and the fact that innovation and insurance coverage make quality care more accessible than ever,” said Katelyn Watson, chief marketing officer at Talkspace. “Now, we’re elevating the real faces and voices of Talkspace members sharing their experiences openly, so anyone can see themselves in therapy, starting with our flagship Mental Health Awareness Month campaign.”
“Therapy and mental health play a crucial role in self-acceptance and the pursuit of happiness. In Talkspace’s rebranding journey, our aim was to underscore the importance of viewing therapy and mental health as essential practices. We wanted to convey the idea of Making space for a shift in perspective. Our design system was crafted with this core notion in mind: the profound transformative impact of therapy on the mind, unveiling new outlooks and realms previously unexplored. The symbolic representation, wordmark, and T-shaped container at the heart of Talkspace’s design echo this concept, accompanied by uplifting illustrations, iconography, and art direction. Together, they show how therapy helps the mind thrive through life’s highs and lows.”, explains Joe Ling, creative director at Koto.
During Mental Health Awareness Month, Talkspace will run a campaign showcasing the new brand to emphasize the importance of individuals embracing the emotions that surface during therapy sessions and encouraging them to “Talk it Out.” The campaign invites members to share what therapy means to them, showcasing the diverse ways individuals experience therapy and encouraging others to recognize their emotions and learnings as valuable guideposts on the path to improved mental health.
Source: Koto
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Long read for a US based project. Mumbrella’s gonna get way bigger if we all start putting in releases from overseas offices…
User ID not verified.