Identity System • Crisis Communications • Change Enablement
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations across the country to rethink how people work, learn and receive care, the University of Florida and UF Health needed a unified communication system that could quickly educate, guide and protect tens of thousands of students, faculty, staff, patients and community members. I led the creation of the Screen, Test & Protect brand platform, toolkit and governance system that became the visual and communication standard across both organizations.
The Situation
In spring 2020, the University of Florida and UF Health faced an unprecedented challenge: safely returning employees, students and patients to campuses, hospitals and clinics during a global pandemic.
Communicators across both organizations needed immediate access to clear, consistent and medically accurate materials. At the same time, public health guidance was evolving rapidly, creating a need for a communication system that could scale quickly while maintaining trust and consistency.
The Challenge
Create a unified communication framework that could:
• Translate complex public health guidance into clear, actionable messages
• Support both UF and UF Health audiences
• Remain highly visible within existing brand environments
• Enable rapid deployment across hundreds of communication channels
• Scale across campuses, hospitals, clinics and extension offices
• Support both UF and UF Health audiences
• Remain highly visible within existing brand environments
• Enable rapid deployment across hundreds of communication channels
• Scale across campuses, hospitals, clinics and extension offices
The solution needed to be flexible enough for local customization while maintaining a consistent visual identity across the entire system.
Strategic Approach
Rather than creating a collection of isolated signs and graphics, I approached the initiative as a behavior-change campaign.
The strategy focused on three principles:
1. Visibility: Use a distinct visual system that could stand apart from existing
UF and UF Health communications.
UF and UF Health communications.
2. Simplicity: Reduce evolving public health guidance into clear, memorable actions.
3. Scalability: Create a toolkit and governance model that communicators could deploy quickly
while preserving consistency.
while preserving consistency.
To increase visibility, I elevated yellow as a primary campaign color while still maintaining alignment with UF and UF Health brand standards. This allowed critical health and safety messaging to stand out in environments already saturated with orange and blue.
Execution
The resulting toolkit included hundreds of ready-to-use assets and customizable templates designed for print, digital, environmental, clinical and workplace communications. In addition to developing the system, I conducted virtual training sessions, supported communicators across both organizations and served as a central resource for customization requests, approvals and campaign governance.
Impact
• More than 250 communication assets developed and distributed systemwide
• Adopted across the University of Florida and UF Health
• Supported phased return-to-work and return-to-campus efforts
• Created a unified design standard during a rapidly evolving public health crisis
• Received Gold AAMC GIA Award
• Received FPRA Image Award
• Received Gold ADDY Award
• Contributed to a coordinated communication effort that helped educate and guide thousands of
employees, students, patients and community members during the pandemic.
Why This Project Matters
This project wasn't simply a signage campaign. It was a large-scale change enablement and crisis communications initiative that required balancing public health guidance, organizational alignment, accessibility, brand consistency and user behavior at a time when clarity and trust were critical.