Abano Healthcare

A 4-day brand refresh that repositioned Abano as a market leader.

Industry: Dental Healthcare
Client: Abano Healthcare
Role: Lead Designer
Year: 2023

In 2023, while working as Lead Internal Designer at Abano Healthcare, I was given full creative reign to refresh the corporate brand ahead of a major showcase and the arrival of a new CEO.

My relationship with Abano started earlier, when I was brought in as a freelancer for both Maven Dental and Abano Healthcare. During that time, I executed the original Abano brand refresh - but under strict instruction to follow aesthetics provided directly by leadership. I delivered what was asked, but the result was generic and quickly felt outdated.

Fast forward: Abano realised the brand still wasn’t cutting through. As their internal lead designer, I was tasked with rebranding my own work - this time with the creative freedom to solve the real issue.

The Challenge

Despite being one of Australasia’s largest dental groups, Abano’s brand lacked impact. The identity I had originally delivered - dictated by leadership’s aesthetic preferences - blended into the sea of beige competitors. It didn’t reflect the scale, credibility, or leadership position of the business.

The risk was clear: without a confident corporate brand, Abano risked losing trust with investors, talent, and partners.

Overview of the Abano Healthcare brand guidelines designed by Pronto Studio, showcasing logo usage, colour palette, typography styles, accessibility contrast, and visual elements as part of a 2025 brand identity refresh.
Grid layout of Abano Healthcare business cards designed by Pronto Studio, featuring consistent brand typography, contact details for Alison Coates, and a bold navy background with teal wave graphic from the 2025 brand refresh.
Branded business cards for Abano Healthcare designed by Pronto Studio, featuring a clean layout, navy blue background, wave graphic element, and modern typography as part of their 2025 brand identity refresh.
Abano Healthcare brand refresh presentation designed by Pronto Studio, featuring corporate profile slides, company timeline, clinician development, and data visualisation graphics

The Opportunity

With new leadership and a high-stakes corporate showcase on the horizon, this was an opportunity to fix the perception issue at its root: by letting design lead strategically, not just aesthetically.

The refresh needed to:

  • Reposition Abano as a confident, modern market leader

  • Break away from “safe” but forgettable healthcare visuals

  • Deliver a usable system that internal teams could scale - fast

Recruitment marketing brochure for Abano Healthcare designed by Pronto Studio, showcasing clinician testimonials, brand values, and practice support information in a bold refreshed visual identity
Promotional flyer for Abano Healthcare’s Clinician Development Program, featuring bold colours and branded design elements — created by Pronto Studio to support dental recruitment and staff engagement
Abano Healthcare onboarding handbook for new clinicians, designed by Pronto Studio — showcasing refreshed brand identity for dental recruitment and internal communications
Flat lay of Abano Healthcare’s onboarding brochure showcasing internal spreads and brand messaging — designed by Pronto Studio to align with the refreshed visual identity and improve employee engagement
Abano Healthcare social media graphics featuring location-based recruitment messages like ‘Love what you do in Sydney’ and ‘Love what you do in Townsville,’ designed for mobile display.

The Approach

With just four days, I focused on the highest-value design decisions:

  • A sharper colour system that created authority and distinctiveness

  • Refined typography for clarity across investor decks, corporate docs, and recruitment material

  • Clean, consistent templates that cut down production time internally

  • A streamlined rollout plan that allowed quick adoption across 200+ clinics and multiple sub-brands

This time, the brief wasn’t “make it look like this.” It was “make it work.”

3D rendering of Abano Healthcare’s trade show event stand featuring branded visuals, surfboard signage, and beach-themed setup — designed by Pronto Studio to attract clinicians relocating to Australia and New Zealand
Abano Healthcare promotional booth setup with branded pull-up banners and recruitment materials, designed by Pronto Studio for a healthcare networking event
Two pull-up banners designed for Abano Healthcare by Pronto Studio, featuring the ‘Love what you do’ brand message, QR code for job opportunities, and welcoming imagery of clinicians
Abano Healthcare team at an international healthcare recruitment event, standing in front of a branded booth designed by Pronto Studio, featuring the ‘Love what you do’ campaign visuals and promotional materials

The Results & ROI

The refreshed identity delivered both immediate and lasting value:

ROI at a glance:

  • Speed: A complete brand refresh delivered in just 4 days, aligned with a critical CEO transition.

  • Efficiency: Streamlined templates reduced design time and reliance on external support.

  • Perception Shift: Elevated Abano’s image from “just another dental group” to a confident, credible market leader.

  • Lesson Learned: By trusting design expertise instead of dictating aesthetics, Abano avoided repeating the same costly misstep in future projects.

Four illustrated posters representing Abano Healthcare’s previous brand values with phrases like ‘We take the time to care’ and ‘We only bring our best’ in pastel colour blocks
Pull-up banner from Abano Healthcare’s previous branding showcasing core values: Freedom, Support, Opportunity, Guidance, and Innovation — with tagline ‘Love what we do in Australia and New Zealand.
Flat lay of Abano Healthcare’s previous brand stationery suite, including letterheads, business cards, and branded folders — featuring the old logo and brand slogan ‘Happy, healthy patients for life.
Abano Healthcare branded event materials including tote bag, booklet, and business card featuring the old logo and brand colours — designed by Pronto Studio.

Acknowledgement

This project was completed during my time as Lead Internal Designer at Abano Healthcare, where I was responsible for creative direction across both 1300SMILES and Maven Dental, prior to founding Pronto Studio.

Modern dental consultation space featuring a clinician speaking with a patient in a bright, naturally lit clinic — designed and art directed by Pronto Studio as part of the Abano Healthcare brand refresh.
Rebecca from Abano Healthcare, sharing her experience working with Pronto Studio on design projects.

Rebecca Hollingsworth | Abano Healthcare


Mel is an incredible graphic designer that I’ve had the pleasure to work with for years now. Her quality of work is above and beyond what you can get through agency or a freelance platform. She's intuitive about design and creates fun, fresh projects that people love. She can bring an energy to any brand that makes them look modern, professional and exciting. On top of that she's a lovely person through and through, always a pleasure to deal with and receptive to your ideas. I trust her with designing brands from scratch as easily as I’d trust her with campaign execution. If your brand needs help or you just want it to ‘pop’ I can’t recommend Mel highly enough.