The world of healthcare design was stuck in a time warp - stock photos, clinical messaging, and designs that spoke more to insurance companies than humans. That started changing when Dan Kenger saw an opportunity to bring consumer-first design to an industry that had forgotten about the consumer.
During his Gin Lane days, Dan's content-first approach and selective client philosophy helped create the modern D2C playbook through work with brands like Harry's and Sweetgreen. He'd actually helped create Hims' original brand identity back in 2017, so when he joined as Chief Design Officer in 2020, he was building on a foundation he'd already laid.
Whether you're a designer, brand builder, or just curious about how thoughtful design can transform entire industries — check out the full episode of the Marketing Factor. Read below for five highlights from the interview you can apply to your own branding.
"You got to do it like 10 times. You got to convince me that it should be part of a system. I hate these systems that are so pie in the sky that think of all these use cases before they even exist... I'm a big fan of like, let's do it. Let's Jimmy rig it with band-aids like 20 times and then let's codify it."
The "prove it" approach means solutions earn their spot through repeated success, not speculative value. Think of it like cooking - you don't write down a recipe until you've made the dish a bunch of times and know what really works. This practicality prevents the common trap of over-engineering design systems before they're needed. Instead, it creates a living framework that evolves naturally with real-world use, making it much more likely that team members will actually embrace and use the system rather than work around it.
"Design needs to support the business. And if you're supporting it in an agency, that's wildly different than if you're supporting it in-house. And I think that kind of context really needs to be kept in mind."
At an agency, you're sprinting - creating quick, impactful projects for different clients. But in-house? You're running a marathon, thinking about long-term brand evolution and business growth. This shift requires a completely different mindset about success. While agency work often aims for immediate visual impact, in-house design needs to balance creative expression with business metrics, user experience, and long-term scalability. It's about building systems that can grow and adapt while maintaining their core identity through countless touchpoints and campaigns.
"How I talk to men that are losing their hair is very different than how I talk to women that might be experiencing hair loss after postpartum, after having their first child, right? I can make jokes with the guy... But you talk to a woman who's experiencing hair loss after her first child, that's a wildly different experience that brands need to recognize and show up in a way that's respectful to it."
Healthcare marketing isn't one-size-fits-all, especially when dealing with sensitive issues. The psychology behind hair loss perfectly illustrates this - while guys might laugh about their receding hairlines, postpartum hair loss ties into deeper emotions about motherhood and identity. Smart brands recognize these nuances and adjust their voice accordingly. Whether it's weight management, skin care, or mental health, understanding the emotional context behind health concerns shapes how we communicate about them.
"We're a healthcare company that doesn't look like a healthcare company... We just treat it in a much more consumer related way where we show people in our ads. And these are things that traditional healthcare doesn't do."
Traditional healthcare branding often feels like it was designed by committee - clinical, impersonal, and stuck in the past. Breaking this mold means understanding why healthcare marketing got so stale in the first place: it wasn't really designed for patients, but for insurance companies and medical institutions. By bringing D2C design principles into healthcare, brands can finally speak human. This shift comes down to making healthcare feel more approachable and less intimidating for people who've grown used to great consumer experiences in every other part of their lives.
"The music industry is always on the zeitgeist of defining the trends... The city really is a never ending, evolving Petri dish of inspiration that I really do love."
Whether it's album artwork pushing creative boundaries or city streets buzzing with energy, inspiration comes from keeping your eyes open to the world around you. The trick is connecting these diverse influences back to your work in meaningful ways. Architecture might inspire a new way to structure information, or animation could influence how you think about user interactions. This cross-pollination of ideas helps prevent designs from feeling stale or derivative within their own industry.