Well, it’s a name. But more than a name, to us it’s an embodiment of our belief in what medical device design is, and our commitment to the industry.
In selecting a name and developing our brand, we could have always gone with something more straight-forward or catchy. Maybe even dropped a vowel or two. But that wouldn’t be much fun or make for much of an article. Instead, as we do with all projects, we took a thoughtful approach to the problem to make our brand meaningful and memorable. A reflection of our carefully considered approach to medical device design and development. For the sake of a few hundred words, it’s worth telling the story.
In few other markets does product design have such a strong impact on the human condition than in medical devices. There is no one user of a medical device. Patients, clinicians, caregivers, operators, communities, are all impacted, and all should be considered as part of the process. We believe that we cannot truly be human-centred in our approach, without being human-centred at all levels of interaction.
At its core then, Virtimachi (pronounced vir-ti-mak-ee) is about the medical device – man and machine. It is at this figurative and literal intersection that we’ve committed our attention to delivering the best possible design. Our desire is to ensure our brand encapsulated this philosophy.
The origin of the name Virtimachi, if you haven’t already recognised it, is rooted in Latin. A language from which, along with Greek, much of our medical terminology originates. A name compounded – with some artistic license, from two Latin words; vir, or man, and machina, machine. Then, much like in orthopaedics, we added in some Ti to hold it all together and help it roll off the tongue.
The logo tells a similar story. We’ve taken the V and M, initials for vir and machi[na], and layered meaning on top. More than just initials however, overlapped and intersected with this are the pictographic representations of man and machine; the Japanese kanji character for man, and one of the simplest machines, the lever. An empathy for our human experience and a passion for high-performing medical devices. As inseparable in our brand as they are in our industry.
Yes, we put a lot of thought into it, and yes, we’re proud of it. As we said from the outset, it’s a reflection of our considered approach to medical device design and development. The same purpose we put into all our work. If you’re curious about how you too can leverage our process to elevate your project, get in touch.
