EMME Redefines How We Think Birth Control Should Look

Deerfield's brand design for EMME focuses on the power of feminine energy and takes a 360-degree approach when it comes to women's health.

EMME jettisons the overly medical approach other birth control options take and decides to have some fun. From the warm, feminine color palette to the instantly iconic logo of Athena riding a tiger, the design from EMME takes the stigma out of discussing women's health. Our favorite design element is the pillbox, which looks like it could double as a tiny clutch.

With an approachable, fresh design, birth control and women's health get a jolt of empowerment and beauty in EMME.

Deerfield co-founders, Yael Eisele and Melanie Wiesenthal, the Creative team that launched MYRO, has returned to startup launches, now in the women's health space with the recent launch of EMME (EMME.com). From Brand Strategy, naming, brand identity, smart case design, web, social, photography, App visual assets and design (along with the EMME team) and unboxing, advertising, etc... Deerfield lead the effort for all brand launch touch points. We partnered closely with the EMME team to bring the EMME smart case to market with a clear brand voice.

"The design strategy was all about leveraging the power of design to support efficacy of the Pill, by fitting into the user's life. We believe if the smart case looks and feels like an accessory and less like a medical device, she's more likely to take it with her, where her pills need to be to stay on track. It's a true testament of the power of design to improve people's lives." — Melanie Wiesenthal

The offering of a total system approach also allowed us to impact brand expression for the total customer journey: from web, to unboxing, to app and eventually pill delivery when it's launched. It's all seamless and deliberate. Our logo (Athena riding a tigress) is the expression of knowledge is powerful (Athena is often associated as the goddess of wisdom), female power and strength.

A little about the name, brand expression and logo: EMME is rooted in the word “strength”; so we wanted to create a brand that empowered women to be able to do what they want to do, on their life on the pill. The name is a Palindrome, literally closing the loop on women’s health. Our mark is a modern day Athena (the goddess of wisdom and the hunt) riding a Tigress, getting exactly what she wants.

The EMME name was chosen logo is a palindrome, symbolizing the closed loop on women's cycle, and the name is rooted in the word Irm, meaning strength.

The EMME Motto features a modern day Athena, riding a Tigress, seizing the day — and then some.

The use of circles, oblongs and especially symmetry in the design visually reference the power of the EMME brand expression—from smart case, to web, to packaging, to the app—we aim to reinforce our key tenant that life on The Pill is better when we understand our cycles, know our body better, and take the Pill on time, every time.

Let's get into specifics about design and how we seek to reinvent Health Care branding: The brand's empowering yet witty voice provides contrast to the elegant case design and charming illustrated brand prints, logos, and graphics. This approach provided a richness to the brand visual language that considering the category— Pharma, health care and medical devices/tech— is nothing short of revolutionary. The use of these various brand assets allowed us to temper messages with approachable flair and attract a wider audience. A wide brand library at launch also allows the internal team to maintain newness across many touch points.

Our busiest creative roll-out happened in the first and second quarters of 2020, and we had to pivot the creative several times to respond to the tremendous social, heath and political emergencies taking place in the US and around the world. The lockdowns especially forced us to consider our go-to-market strategy as well as how to generate assets for launch. During Covid-19, for example, we were based in Brooklyn, NY, most hard hit by the early phases fo the pandemic so photography with people was simply not possible. That made having illustrations, graphics and strong typography at the ready an essential in claiming a visual look and feel without relying on showing people. A table top shoot was managed by Deerfield doing Creative direction, art direction and styling, only by Yael Eisele, a Deerfield Co-Founder, and her Photographer husband, Aaron Dyer (and a couple of kids in tow) in their own home.

Strategy: We deliberately choose to disconnect The Pill with sex or sexuality as some of the competition does. Aside from the fact that we felt we had an attractive case to feature, we wanted to shift the conversation to the power of The Pill for a woman’s holistic health. Demystifying The Pill and debunking what it’s for (contraception only), during a time when women’s access to BC is being challenged all over the US, was paramount for the brand positioning. The use of the EMME system, rather than App, Case or Pills alone is what makes the EMME system particularity efficacious. So showing these three together was essential.