We’ve got a new logo.

Today, South Carolina AHEC is unveiling a fresh new look – beginning with our logo and part of a broader update to how SC AHEC presents itself visually.

We’re proud of the brand identity we’ve developed over the years and know many have come to recognize and are familiar with our organization as a result.

So why change it? Simply put: it was time.

First, our previous logo has been in place almost 10 years (since 2016). It served us and its purpose well, but over time things evolve naturally, and so have we.

One of the biggest challenges all AHECs share in communicating who we are is our name. This has been an obstacle in explaining AHEC’s mission since the program was established and funded by Congress in 1972: What the heck even is an “AHEC”?

Our name can be unclear, even when the acronym is fully spelled out: Area Heath Education Consortium. Looking at our last logo – someone unfamiliar with us would have no idea what it is we do or what our organization is about at first encounter.

So last year we set out to design a logo that felt updated while also conveying meaning, and (if you haven’t guessed by the title of this announcement) we think we’ve found it.

The new look explained.

Let’s start with the icon or visual element of the logo on the left. First, we’ve got the state of South Carolina crafted out of building blocks – a callback to our tagline: “Building and Supporting the Healthcare Workforce South Carolina Needs.”

Next, you’ll notice four of those blocks include symbols, a reference to the work we do and also that the South Carolina AHEC Statewide System is comprised of four regions (Lowcountry, Mid-Carolina, Pee Dee and Upstate).

The symbols include:

· A mortarboard or graduate cap to represent education and training

· A medical cross to signify healthcare

· A group of people, symbolic of communities and the healthcare workforce

· A location symbol to emphasize our focus on local programs and events, as well as connecting students and health professionals to communities

While AHEC’s mission and scope of programs is broad and complex, the goal is for people, at first glance, to have an idea of the type of work we do.

Moving on to the text component - we’ve chosen to spell out ‘Area Health Education Consortium’ under South Carolina AHEC to add clarity and so that people know exactly what our name stands for.

Completing the new look, we’ve updated our font and kept our two primary colors from the last branding iteration (blue and green), while adding fresh accent colors (teal, citron and cyan).

Over the coming months, you’ll begin to see this new visual direction take shape across everything we do – from our website to social media, to printed and distributed materials.

Though we may look a little different, have no fear, our work hasn’t changed. South Carolina AHEC is still building and supporting the healthcare workforce South Carolina needs.

TL;DR: New logo, same South Carolina AHEC.

Thanks for sticking with us,

The South Carolina AHEC Team

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