IBM Watson Health
Brand, illustration, web design
IBM built Watson Health in 2016 through a series of acquisitions. The business would use technologies from core Watson [IBM’s AI], and apply them across a range of health sectors—life sciences, imaging, government health and human services, payer and provider. The division was sold in 2023 and reformed as Merative LP.
From 2019 to 2022, I was part of the Watson Health brand and design team, contributing to the build of web pages, and illustration and pictogram libraries.
Where Watson excels in communicating the benefits of machine learning to a scientific audience, Watson Health had to be more human. It aimed to build trust and bonds, and add humanity to technology that was not widely understood.
Performance metrics
Watson Health brand value in 2018 was $240M; in 2022 it had risen to $1B
Brand familiarity rose from 75% in 2018 to 91% in 2023.
Brand confidence rose from 45% in 2019 to 63% in 2023.
Dot language
Since AI is purely intangible, we rely on a robust library of dot graphics and iconography to express capabilities, solutions, and concepts to which Watson is applied.
The dot is IBM’s metaphor for data. As Watson is primarily a data tool, the dot is used extensively in Watson communications. As we sort, structure, and retrieve insights from data sets, the dot expresses these in animation, graphic representation and dimensional narratives.
Illustration and iconography
The Watson Health illustration style borrows from, and has helped define, core IBM Design Language guidance. Our illustrations are composed of three primary styles; line, flat, and isometric. Line style and flat style illustrations are drawn on the same pixel grid as our pictograms and application icons. Isometric illustrations are drawn on a similar grid in the isometric space. The result is a harmonious design system regardless of the style, and distinctly IBM.
Pictograms are a useful tool in communicating more concrete subjects or concepts. IBM Design Language (IDL) provides a framework for the use and creation of pictograms. We expanded the IDL set to include a host of health-specific pictograms which apply to Watson Health solutions and industries.
