Inspire: Global Assessments

Challenge

In early 2023, Straydog was approached by Nursing Community Assessment Service (NCAS), a division of the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) for a re-brand as well as for the re-design of it’s website.

NCAS was born of the collaborative efforts of the BC Care Aide an​d Community Health Worker Registry, the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), and the Government of BC’s Ministry of Health. NCAS helps British Columbia (BC), and Maritime Canada nurse regulators decide if potential health care applicants are ready to practice, specifically, NCAS evaluates the educational credentials, language proficiency and competencies of internationally educated nurses (IENs) looking to practice in BC and the Maritimes. Regulators use the NCAS assessment services to decide if candidates are ready to practice safely, ethically, and competently in our province’s health care system.

Over the past several years, NCAS has successfully grown to expand it’s services to other jurisdictions in Canada, with the longer-term goal of providing assessments services to additional health-care industries as well as other technical professions. With this in mind, it became evident that a name change would be necessary, as nursing alone would not be the organizations focus in the future.

Re-naming can be a challenge for any business, so it’s always best to work with professionals in the fields of branding, naming and design when contemplating a name change. A great name can make that great first impression and help open doors. When you’re investing a lot of time and money into your new company or product, or into a market with a lot of competition, the stakes are high. Choosing the right name is critical to your success.

Naming your business, and deciding on the perfect name is one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Far more nerve racking than deciding on your location or price strategy because it’s permanent…at least it should be. On top of that, your name must be unique, and stand out amongst your competition and the industry.

With the re-naming for NCAS, the goal was to be provocative, and to develop a name that would be emotional, while also being descriptive of their services, while not being geographically or “nursing” focused.

Result

After a number of weeks of  collaboration with the client, the name: Inspire: Global Assesments, was decided upon.

The Brand Identity

The Colour Palette

Dark blue and vibrant green are the primary colours for the brand. Supporting blues and a yellow-green are the secondary brand colours. Accent colours are the yellow-orange shades, use sparingly and carefully to draw attention and provide contrast. Warm grey and white provide neutrals and can be used at light tints for backgrounds, clear-space and other supporting roles. All colours can be used as tints less than 100% or in gradients to create depth and interest. Use similar colour hues in gradients with care for a subtle effect.