A project to bring vision care to children in Indigenous communities has a renewed focus after the launch of a rebrand intended to make eye exams more engaging and interactive.
The Indigenous Children Eye Examination (ICEE) initiative’s new identity sets a playful tone in a departure from the academic, staid and stuffy branding common in the health-care category, according to Canadian brand studio Brief.
The rebrand, unveiled on Monday, includes a multi-lingual logo and streamlined website with improved clarity and user navigation to go along with a stuffed-toy and book giveaway campaigns at clinics that appeal to the imaginations of ICEE’s young audience.
“The previous branding was designed around category norms – it was professional and made for an older audience,” Greg Gray, partner, co-founder and creative director at Brief, tells strategy. “But the more we learned about ICEE and the profound impact they’re having in Indigenous communities, the more we realized that the focus needed to be on the children ICEE serves.”
The rebrand centres on the visuals of U.K.-based artist Nick Burton, whose illustrated “Focus Friend” characters are designed to guide children and put them at ease during eye exams. Burton’s purple, teal, pink and orange ICEE logo includes copy in two Cree dialects, French and English to reflect the communities in which the national project provides care.
ICEE was founded in 2019 by Dr. Koursoh Sabri, a Hamilton ophthalmologist and McMaster University professor, to bring better eye care to Indigenous children and remove barriers to services that many remote communities face.
The project’s first in-person clinic was launched in Moosonee, Ont., 2020, in partnership with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and local communities. Funding for the program in First Nations communities is supported by the federal government’s Jordan’s Principle policy. Métis communities are funded through the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
The organization, which relies on volunteer eye-care professionals to provide services, visits communities periodically to hold clinics and offers telemedicine to provide consistent care remotely. It also assists with specialist referrals and support for those requiring surgery and supplies eyewear through its partnerships at no cost.
ICEE now serves six communities in Ontario and two in Saskatchewan.
