Level Partners with DOC to Build a Cross-Media Brand Committed to Truth in Medicine

Jennifer Bernstein
Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:00:00 +0000

At the beginning of 2024, we met a small group of visionary leaders who completely reset our perception of what might be possible in the current healthcare landscape. Like much of the public, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by trying to decipher fact from fiction, distinguishing credible tools and technology from the snake oil products that oversaturate our media and our minds. These early conversations challenged us to view the current healthcare crisis differently — not just as a problem of messaging alone, but as a structural issue that requires collaboration, trust, and new ways of framing and disseminating knowledge.

Science is changing at a nearly incomprehensible speed, and the feeling in the room is that we’re at a tipping point where a small group of committed leaders can effect significant change.

— John Battelle, DOC Co-Founder

DOC’s mission is “to unite and catalyze influential leaders across health, business, and culture to advance credible science, foster meaningful dialogue, and catalyze innovations that improve lives.” We were asked to translate this vision into a brand identity rooted in clarity, trust, and genuine connection across media.

Image c/o doc.health

Brand Persona

When we talk about branding at Level, we don’t just mean the visual elements — we mean the personality, the voice, and the values that bring a brand to life. In collaboration with our clients, we uncover the underlying traits and principles that shape how a brand speaks and acts, which then inform the visual systems we develop and implement.

DOC’s founders arrived with a clear sense of who they were — distinct even in the language they used to describe their vision.

Language shapes expectations, and traditional conference terminology evokes exactly what we’re working to transcend: passive audiences, one-way presentations, and transactional interactions.

— John Battelle, DOC Co-Founder

DOC events are not conferences — they are gatherings. These gatherings do not have speakers; they invite a faculty of expert physicians and scientists to teach, exchange ideas, and foster a true culture of learning. DOC has no sponsors, rather, it has partners — organizations that share its mission of advancing science and medicine.

Perhaps most importantly, DOC does not have attendees. With a room full of leaders, tastemakers, accomplished physicians, and brilliant scientists, everyone has a voice — everyone is a conversant and an active participant at DOC. The gatherings are invitation-only and thoughtfully curated by leadership, ensuring that the conversations are intimate, intentional, and driven by a shared commitment to advancing credible science.

Image: An Oxford-Style Debate at DOC 2024, “Is Aging a Disease or a Process?” c/o DOC

This shift in language reflects a deeper shift in structure: at DOC, every participant is invited to take an active role in the ideas being explored. They engage directly, not only during mainstage presentations, but through roundtables, workshops, and informal moments designed to foster dialogue, connection, and collective inquiry. Conversations continue between sessions, ideas are exchanged freely, and spontaneous interactions deepen the day’s themes. Working groups form organically, allowing ideas to evolve and continue beyond the gathering itself. Read more about the importance of language on doc.health, At DOC, We’re All Conversants.

Image: Conversant at DOC 2024, c/o DOC

Identity

From the outset, Level partnered with the DOC founders to shape a cross-media brand system capable of supporting an ambitious and evolving mission. We began by developing a bold, typographic logomark — one that embodies both longevity and connection. It reflects DOC’s belief that meaningful progress in health and medicine depends on building trust and harnessing collective insight.

From there, we created a flexible visual identity system designed to scale across every form of communication — from digital platforms to spatial environments and printed materials. The system balances clarity with adaptability, ensuring that DOC’s voice is consistent whether it’s expressed online, in a presentation, or in physical spaces.

Image: DOC event swag

Brands in Brands

Two of DOC’s most distinctive touchpoints — the Living Room Lab and The DOCUMENT — extend the gathering’s mission beyond traditional event formats. Both function as unique “brands within the brand,” each with its own role in fostering dialogue and connection.

A central component to DOC is the Living Room Lab. As the name suggests, the lab is an interactive testing suite set in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere, highly-curated by DOC founders. The DOC community can access and engage directly with the latest technologies, diagnostic tools, and research in longevity science.

Image: Living Room Lab at DOC 2024, c/o DOC

Image: Albert Wenger of USV Ventures joins DOC participants at the Living Room Lab, c/o DOC

The DOCUMENT, DOC’s monthly newsletter, offers a snapshot of what’s happening across the community. Its primary purpose is to drive registration through sharing community updates, highlighting faculty, and recommending readings that shape the cultural and intellectual framing of the movement.

Image: The DOCUMENT

reGISTRATION + Media Platforms

To bring DOC’s vision to life online, we designed and developed two distinct digital properties. First, we built a registration platform designed for DOC’s annual, invitation-only gathering. This platform manages all the essentials — invitations, packages, and registration types — while also serving as a dynamic hub for event details. Certain content is public, while additional resources are available exclusively to registrants, including session details, faculty bios, a directory of conversants, and information about partners and Living Room Lab companies.

Image: events.doc.health/2025

Image: doc.health

Alongside the event platform, we developed doc.health, a media-forward website that presents the organization’s mission, partners, and evolving initiatives. Built to grow with DOC, the site is designed to facilitate expansion and supports editorial content, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and storytelling across channels.

Together, these platforms form the digital foundation of DOC’s growing ecosystem — supporting its gatherings, community, and evolving initiatives.

inaugural gathering

Following the launch of DOC’s digital platforms, we turned our attention to bringing the DOC brand into the physical environment for its inaugural gathering at The Estate Yountville in Napa Valley last October. We designed presentation templates, a scenic backdrop for the main stage, a badge system with printed agendas, and digital and print signage and wayfinding — ensuring the identity was as present and cohesive in person as it is online.

Image: The first meeting of the working group on Women’s Health at DOC 2024, c/o DOC

IMPACT + RECEPTION

One of many positive outcomes of DOC’s inaugural gathering were the working groups that formed. For example, a the working group on Women’s Health took shape in response to the under-recognized role of women in the healthcare system — from gaps in research and clinical trials to inequities in funding and representation. Furthermore, DOC 2025 will center women’s health as one of its core thematic pillars. Some of the rockstar faculty and specialists already confirmed include Britney Blair Ph.D., Elissa Epel Ph.D., Li Gan Ph.D, Jennifer Garrison Ph.D., Kara Goldman M.D., Anitha Kannan, Stephanie Kuku M.D., MBCHB, MRCOG, Brit Morin, Coleen Murphy Ph.D., Kari C. Nadeau M.D., Ph.D., Bailey Renger, Daisy Robinton Ph.D., Nicole Sirotin M.D., DipABLM, FACP, and Roma Van der Walt.

A very special experience. I appreciate that following the event there are actionable next steps to further build this incredibly driven and awesome community of thinkers, doers and supporters.

— Siranush Manukyan, Senior Advisor, Kaiser Permanente

Additionally, DOC’s 2024 gathering received a “net promoter score” (NPS) in the top percentile nationally – a rare benchmark for events of its kind. In the post-event survey, 100% of respondents said they would return next year. That enthusiasm is echoed by Douglas Spitz, CEO, I2 Pure Corp, who shared: “Having been to countless conferences over my career I can say DOC has been the best event I have ever attended. The science was strong, the conversations were thoughtful and rigorous, and the attendees were a joy to be around. Can’t wait to go back!”

Also, our work with DOC has been recognized by Graphis, with the visual identity having won both a 2025 Graphis Design Annual Silver Award and a 2024 GDUSA Health & Wellness Design Award. Doc.health received a 2025 GDUSA Digital Design Award as well.

Our collaboration with DOC reflects our commitment to cross-media branding as the design of systems — systems that support clarity, connection, and credibility across every point of engagement.
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