Kaiser Permanente Logo

Kaiser Permanente LogoKaiser Permanente Logo PNG

The Kaiser Permanente logo symbolizes the union of three groups and a large number of members for health care. The signs show the organization of a joint fund for treatment thanks to the insurance premiums of a consortium of people.

Kaiser Permanente: Brand overview

Founded: July 21, 1945
Founder: Henry J. Kaiser, Sidney R. Garfield
Headquarters:
Oakland, California, U.S.
Website: kaiserpermanente.org

Kaiser Permanente is a U.S.-based medical consortium, a nonprofit health care organization. It brings together three independent groups that interact with each other in their respective occupations. They include Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Corporation with operating companies in the regions, Permanente Medical Associations, and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. Currently, the company has over 12 million members, 300,000 employees, nearly 40 hospitals, and 800 non-small medical facilities. Their main region of operation is in eight U.S. states. The head office is located in Oakland, California. The founders of the service are Sidney Garfield and Henry J. Kaiser. The official year of its appearance is 1945.

The history of the largest medical consortium in the United States began in 1933 with a small hospital in Desert Center, California. At that time, entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser, along with a group of contractors, created the Industrial Indemnity insurance community to compensate hired workers who were employed on his construction projects. Sidney Garfield, meanwhile, had graduated from Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and had an employment contract with the organization, which assisted 5,000 construction workers.

Later the idea emerged to insure all insolvent workers in order to compensate them for medical expenses and to pay out sufficient sums in case of serious injuries. After the Colorado River Aqueduct project was completed, the need for a doctor was no longer necessary. But after a while, Edgar (son of Henry Kaiser, with whom Garfield had previously worked) invited him to work with him because he had a huge project in mind (Grand Coulee Dam). Sidney signed the contract and immediately spent $100,000 to rebuild Mason City Hospital and hired seven doctors. All of this served as a direct base for Kaiser Permanente.

The doctor then founded his firm, Sidney R. Garfield & Associates, to oversee the recovery of indigent patients and provide their treatment. The Kaiser family contracted with him for several more services in the process. Eventually, they became friends and formed a joint company. Gradually, the scope of the organization’s services expanded to include employees of specific businesses and members of their families. Then the entire population began to receive medical services.

Meaning and History

Kaiser Permanente Logo History

It is a major center associated with the country’s leading health care institutions. Its logo is widely recognized, as representatives from eight states use the company’s services. The logo consists of graphics and text, the function of which is the name of the service. It is derived from the last name of the founder of Kaiser and from the name of Permanente Creek in California, where the founder lived.

1991 – 1998

Kaiser Permanente Logo 1991

The logo contains the white figure of a man whose silhouette protrudes from the negative space. The man stands on striped background with his hands raised up, which creates the letter “K.” It stands for the word “Kaiser,” the first symbol in the consortium’s name. Its left side is smooth and straight; the right side is arched and beveled at an angle. The text has a modern and stylish design. The letters are sans serif, smooth, with softened corners. The lettering conveys the company name and is below the icon.

1998 – 1999

Kaiser Permanente Logo 1998

The designers kept the text style but changed the graphics. Now the emblem shows three people of different heights, the tallest of which is located in the middle. This image symbolizes the family: father, mother, and child. The logo reflects a new concept of health insurance service and says that it can be addressed not only to the employees but also to their families. The rising sun with long thin rays is drawn in front of the figures. It is white and formed from negative space against a background of black silhouettes.

1999 – today

Kaiser Permanente Logo

The redesign mainly affected the verbal part. It has a different font: large, geometric, angular. Some letters are still connected. For example, “KA,” “ER,” “ENT,” whereas earlier, more symbols were written together. The logo’s color has also changed: blue is used instead of black, which more accurately corresponds to the sphere of medical services and care for people.

From the time of its appearance until now, the logo of the Kaiser Permanente Consortium has undergone few modifications. Only the number of elements has changed, not their grouping. What has not changed is the ideological content of the emblem, which reflects a comprehensive concern for people for their protection, health, and prosperity. There is only one person in the image in the early version, while in the later versions, there are three. This indicates the expansion of medical and insurance services to many people.

But the logo was controversial at first and didn’t appear for a long time because of the name: design and marketing agencies considered it inappropriate for an organization providing medical support. Hence, they strongly opposed it and asked for a change. But the company did not relent and finally found the right professional who could embody its concept of mercy, warmth, caring, and partnership. That was Douglas Boyd of the firm Boyd Communications. The prototype of the modern version first appeared in 1984.

Font and Colors

Kaiser Permanente Emblem

Landor Associates, a consulting and design studio, worked on the 1999 modification. It reduced the number of sunbeams from seventeen to fourteen so that the figures of people could be seen more clearly. At the same time, the font was changed. Kate Keating and Associates added another touch to the logo, tweaking it for use on medical gowns, signs, and pharmacy labels.

Kaiser Permanente Symbol

From the start, management chose a custom typeface, the approximate equivalent of which is the Kohinoor Latin Medium typeface developed by Indian Type Foundry. The color scheme contains a pleasing combination of blue and white. They allude allegorically to purity, trust, hope, mercy.

Kaiser Permanente color codes

Medium Persian Blue Hex color: #006ba6
RGB: 0 107 166
CMYK: 100 36 0 35
Pantone: PMS 3015 C