Elevance Health

A Tale of Two Brands

Managing complexity to deliver member-first communications within a high-volume brand conversion

Project
Wellpoint & Anthem Brand Conversion

Roles
Creative Direction
Brand Governance
Team Leadership & Mentoring
Systems Design

Objective
Convert a large volume of legacy multilingual health plan materials from regional brands into the updated Wellpoint and Anthem systems across four U.S. state markets. The goal was to deliver brand-compliant member communications with improved hierarchy and usability, making them easier to understand and act on, while meeting aggressive timelines and accuracy requirements in a highly regulated environment.

Solution
To support the demanding conversion schedule without sacrificing member quality or brand fidelity, the work required strong design stewardship and disciplined execution. Establishing clear standards for hierarchy, visual tone, and layout helped the team translate each brand system with confidence, enhanced further by preconfigured layout templates and regular alignment touchpoints. This approach reduced ambiguity, sustained rapid production, and ensured consistency and coherence across all four markets.

Branding Within Boundaries

Multiple factors, including brand systems, strict state-level regulations, and language requirements specific to each market, framed this project. These overlapping elements created significant constraints on design, layout, and hierarchy, all of which had to adhere to strict compliance standards. As a result, they directly influenced how Wellpoint and Anthem could express their identities.

A Multi-Market Brand Transition

In 2022, Anthem, Inc. rebranded as Elevance Health and began consolidating a mix of legacy and newly acquired health plans into a more unified brand architecture under the renewed Anthem and Wellpoint identities. As these became the primary trade names members would see by market, a significant volume of legacy communications required conversion. My team led that transition across four markets, ensuring every piece aligned with its corresponding brand, reflected updated content standards, and moved smoothly through each state’s regulatory review path.

Simultaneous Governance

Each market had an assigned brand and a defined set of guidelines. The challenge was not choosing the correct system, but expressing two distinct brand personalities across similar channels and formats while navigating different regulatory requirements. I set clear standards for how each brief should be interpreted, guiding the team in applying the appropriate visual and tonal cues for Wellpoint or Anthem. This ensured every piece felt aligned with the kind of partner each brand was meant to represent, well beyond the logo. Every decision balanced member experience, regulatory constraints, and the intent of each brand system.

Illustrative examples of Wellpoint and Anthem brand application in-market

Member-First Design

Much of the legacy material reflected older design conventions, with dense layouts that made it difficult for members to quickly identify key information. Applying clearer hierarchy, spacing, and emphasis helped surface essential actions, deadlines, and plan details more predictably. The resulting communications were easier to scan and understand, improving usability for members.

Restructured legacy materials to surface key actions and improve usability - before (left), after (right)

Delivering Against Complexity

Bringing two brand systems to market through a high-volume, regulated conversion left little room for drift or misalignment. Keeping member comprehension and brand intent tightly aligned enabled Elevance Health to deliver on-brand, member-first communications at scale across four markets within the allocated delivery window, without sacrificing quality or cohesion.