In mid-2017, ClearCorrect was acquired by Straumann Group, a global dental conglomerate known for their innovation and legacy for excellence. The following year, we began the research and exploration for rebranding ClearCorrect.
In mid-2017, ClearCorrect was acquired by Straumann Group, a global dental conglomerate known for their innovation and legacy for excellence. The following year, we began the research and exploration for rebranding ClearCorrect.
More about my career at ClearCorrectIf you're a fan of context, I recommend exploring the link above.
Prior to its acquisition by Straumann, the ClearCorrect brand was about presenting an alternative—particularly a lower-cost alternative—to Invisalign, which dominated the US market at the time. However, starting in 2017, as Align Technology's patents began to expire, more competition began to flood the market. Positioning exclusively against “The Other Guys” would no longer be effective.
There were other challenges that needed to be addressed as well:
Collaborating with the Global Brand team in Basel, Switzerland, we worked for months on the value proposition and ultimate design identity for ClearCorrect, intending to make the biggest splash possible in our industry, while still fitting comfortably next to our sister companies.
1 x Senior Designer (Ariel Elliott)
1 x Video Editor (Richard Hirsch)
1 x 3D Artist - Product renders
2 x Agencies - Video production and adaptation for global markets
Creative direction · Art Direction · Final design for major assets · Review & critique of assets · Messaging · Copywriting · Vendor management · Staging & routing of work · Video production
Prior to its acquisition by Straumann, the ClearCorrect brand was about presenting an alternative, particularly a lower-cost alternative, to Invisalign, which dominated the US market. However, starting in 2017, as Align’s patents began to expire, more competition began to flood the market. Positioning exclusively against “The Other Guys” would no longer be effective.
Tackling a long-form project like a brochure is the best way I’ve found to develop a brand. It allows me to put all of the elements to the test in a real-world scenario, and allows me to determine overall relationships of fonts, sizes colors, illustrations, and photos. By the time you’re done with a full website or brochure, you should not just be intimately familiar with the brand, but you should also have a great “starter set” of finished assets to use and re-use as appropriate.
We determined that the brand needed to "flex" a little to communicate directly with patients. The typography, imagery, and tone of voice changed to make the brand more approachable and relevant for that audience.
On one end of the imagery spectrum, we had photos, and on the other, we had icons. In the middle, we found that we needed illustrations that were detailed enough to convey complex ideas and anatomical details, but not so detailed or life-like that they became unpleasant to look at—as teeth often can be.
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We designed two tradeshow booths in our brand: One followed the general layout, design language, and sales strategy. The other booth was ClearCorrect's standalone booth, which was larger and designed as a more immersive and sequential experience.
Our competitors at the time were nearly all using CGI to tell their stories. We asked ourselves: could we do the same and still feel unique? Perhaps, but we determined it would be better to try something completely different. We believed that to the average patient, teeth are, at best, a little boring, and at worst, a little gross (or perhaps even a lot gross). So we explored a much more conceptual take on our videos, using physical props, practical effects, and metaphorical imagery. To help us with this we found an excellent partner in Tilted Chair, who had experience in stop-motion work, and whose size and process both proved to be an excellent fit for ClearCorrect.
Prior to its acquisition by Straumann, the ClearCorrect brand was about presenting an alternative, particularly a lower-cost alternative, to Invisalign, which dominated the US market. However, starting in 2017, as Align’s patents began to expire, more competition began to flood the market. Positioning exclusively against “The Other Guys” would no longer be effective.
Tackling a long-form project like a brochure is the best way I’ve found to develop a brand. It allows me to put all of the elements to the test in a real-world scenario, and allows me to determine overall relationships of fonts, sizes colors, illustrations, and photos. By the time you’re done with a full website or brochure, you should not just be intimately familiar with the brand, but you should also have a great “starter set” of finished assets to use and re-use as appropriate.
We determined that the brand needed to "flex" a little to communicate directly with patients. The typography, imagery, and tone of voice changed to make the brand more approachable and relevant for that audience.
On one end of the imagery spectrum, we had photos, and on the other, we found we needed icons. In the middle, we found that we needed illustrations that were detailed enough to convey complex ideas and anatomical details, without unpleasant to look at—as teeth often can be.
We designed two tradeshow booths in our brand: One followed the general layout, design language, and sales strategy. The other booth was ClearCorrect's standalone booth, which was larger and designed as a somewhat more immersive and sequential experience.
Our competitors at the time were nearly all using CGI to tell their stories. We asked ourselves if we could follow suit and still feel unique, and decided it would be better to try something completely different. We believed that, to the average patient, teeth can be, at best, boring, and at worst, gross—so we explored a much more conceptual take on our videos, using physical props, practical effects, and metaphorical imagery.
The reception of our rebrand initiative in 2019 could be summed up in one word: excitement. Prior to 2019, ClearCorrect was still new in the Straumann world, and many team members were unsure what to make of it. This brand made a big impression both in the industry and in the company. Sales managers took up the new materials with a new energy, and by 2021, ClearCorrect sales more than tripled the 2018 figures.
