Seamlessly connecting vets and pet owners

Naming and visual ID for veterinary healthcare platform

Background & Challenge

Since 1983, IDEXX has been helping animals and people lead longer, fuller lives. From point-of-care diagnostics to monitoring herd safety and milk quality to water testing, its solutions are used by customers in 175 countries, impacting 2.5 billion people worldwide. Its veterinary practice management systems are used by thousands of clinics and hospitals. Realizing that pet owners are the most important factor in pet care, yet vet offices don’t always partner with them effectively, IDEXX created a comprehensive platform to optimize vet–pet owner communication and engagement. The platform seamlessly integrates with the practice’s management system to connect with clients, leading to smoother interactions, better compliance with care instructions, and better health outcomes for our furry friends. IDEXX turned to Catchword for a name and visual identity. As the largest and most important product launch the company had ever undertaken, the brand identity was crucial. Meanwhile, with about 15 million registered trademarks in the relevant classes, finding an ownable name was going to be a particular challenge. 

Naming the Brand

We explored a variety of construction types and key messages but focused on a single tonality—warm yet professional, authoritative but accessible—given what’s at stake in pet care. 

After nearly 2,300 names developed and full legal review, the client selected Vello, a friendly combination of velocity and hello. It’s a short, natural-sounding and -looking coinage that communicates the platform’s ability to speed interactions and increase goodwill in the vet–pet owner relationship. As a subtle bonus, the word velo (“bicycle” in French and “sail” in Italian) reinforces the ideas of speed and smooth sailing at a human scale. 

Client
IDEXX
IDEXX
Industry
Health & Biotech
Service
Product Naming
Visual Identity
VelloFeaturedImage_1800x695.jpg
Bringing the Brand to Life

We created more than 10 design concepts for the client to consider, then refined them to land on a final ID the client loved. The shape of the symbol recalls a heart and the letter V, while the two interweaved lines suggests happy collaboration between vet practice and pet parent. The all-lowercase type comes across as personable and unpretentious, yet the type for the word is slightly heavier than the symbol, adding gravitas to the name. The teal color is a cheerful, friendly variation on the typical healthcare blue.

Outcome

Vello launched in February 2024, with initial users showing an average 19% reduction in appointment no-show rate. Vello enables pet owners to become fully informed partners in care. “Vello automates the way we engage with clients, eliminating duplicative administrative work, which has saved our team hours,” said Dr. Kendall Snyder, Animal Care Clinic, North Canton, Ohio. “Since starting with Vello on ezyVet, my staff feels like they’re partnering with the client so we can provide the best care possible for all of our patients—and our clients are loving the Vello experience too, from easy communication tools to having their pet’s records just a click away.

"All our internal stakeholders are very happy with the name and design, and our team couldn’t be more satisfied with the process. In the 3 years I've been at IDEXX, we have never had a smoother naming project."

Lauren Macleod | Senior Director, Software Marketing, IDEXX

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