Portage Health / UP Health System
I worked for Portage Health for ten years beginning in 2005. Much of my work is archived on CD-ROM or lost to turnover and the changing ownership of the healthcare system. Marketing materials are some of the first things to be purges as new branding and campaigns are rolled out.
Sports Medicine Institute
2005: When I joined the communications team at Portage Health, they were in the thick of preparing for the Portage Health Foundation Ball. The Ball, held every spring was a long-standing fundraiser for the hospital to invest in equipment, services, programs for the community. In 2005, the proceeds would be supporting the establishment of the Sports Medicine Institute.
I made this video with a video camera borrowed from the Humanities department (thanks, Erin!), my car, and iMovie.
It’s really embarrassing to see the level of skill here. But it’s also a signpost for the work that I would accomplish in the next ten years.
Lumijuoksu
2007: Hard to say, but fun to do. A team of runners at Portage Health and Michigan Tech organized this run repeated each January for a few years.
Website Redesign (first time)
2007: This web project was a complete overhaul of the database, servers, design, navigation, and delivery of our information on the web. I did extensive research and quotes from vendors on their capabilities, costs, and support. During this project, I was able to justify that a full-time staff is needed to maintain the website and its content (Before this, it was just another task managed by the marketing and communications team). With this project, my title changed from “Graphic Designer” to “Webmaster".” I got a cape … just kidding.
2008 Annual Report
MyPortage Intranet
2009: As part of the 2007 web redesign, we imagined an integrated intranet that had the same look and feel of the website, but with customizable content for employees. It took two years of custom design and code with our vendor partner. It remained an integral part of employee information flow until it was dismantled in 2013 as the website and other employee systems transitioned to other services.
I lead the design of the myPortage site, produced widgets for employees to add to their interfaces, and I produced short help videos.
2009 Annual Report
OB/GYN 0:30 Spot
2011
Sleep Medicine 0:30 Spot
2011
Trauma 0:30 Spot
2011: This commercial never saw production. But I still love the storyboard I made. Poor egg.
Marketing Menu
2011: Our marketing and communications unit often received requests for predetermined marketing plans from our “client departments” from around the hospital. This was sometimes problematic because the clients did not have information on the cost of the things they were asking for, and sometimes didn’t know the options for reaching the audiences they wanted their message to reach. I designed this “menu” as a tool to work with clients on a better way to build a communication plan for their service or event.
Orthopaedics 0:30 spot
2012: I was the lead on the production of this commercial for the orthopaedics service line.
Branding Refresh
2012: I lead the branding refresh for Portage Health and created this style guide.
Senior Health 0:30 Spot
2014
New Logo System
2014: As part of LifePoint Hospital’s acquisition of Portage Health and other hospitals in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a new branding effort became inevitable. At first, LifePoint’s marketing team in Nashville created some concepts. None of them hit home with our team and leadership. We took it into our own hands to create three strong, professional branding packages. I am proud that we convinced the leadership and headquarters that we knew our brand — and our community — best.
You might notice the numbering of the logo groups. Group 1 and 2 were not selected. Group 3 was the selected logo group in almost all testing cases. This was intentional as we led with what we thought were the weakest options and “unveiled” the strongest option last. We did not make a big show of it, but it had the desired effect. I consider this work to be the capstone of my time at Portage Health, having lead two major website redesigns, one intranet development, and two previous minor branding updates.
