# A tangible brand story that lets you feel what it means to stay who you are

Zorggroep Apeldoorn stands for care that puts people first. From the conviction ‘Ik blijf wie ik ben’ (I stay who I am) came the wish not to explain that story, but to make it felt. Together with Bob Slinger we developed Blijf: a newspaper that shows what truly drives Zorggroep Apeldoorn and its community – the people behind the care.

- **Client**: Zorggroep Apeldoorn
- **Location**: Apeldoorn
- **Pillars**: Brand Activation™
- **Made**: Editorial concept, Newspaper design and typography, Print, Project management
- **Together with**: Co-design: Bob Slinger

> Blijf is more than a newspaper. The medium brings the brand to life in daily practice.

### Brand Design™

The design of Blijf is built around calm, attention and humanity. Typography, imagery and choice of paper form one whole and support the story without dominating it.

### Brand Activation™

The newspaper acts as a tangible communication medium that invites people to read and keep it. By putting real stories and portraits at the centre, the medium brings the brand to life in daily practice.

![Zorggroep Apeldoorn: logo](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/logo-zorggroep-apeldoorn.webp)
![Zorggroep Apeldoorn by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/zoggroep-apeldoorn-blijf-editie-5-02.webp)
![Zorggroep Apeldoorn by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/zoggroep-apeldoorn-blijf-editie-5-06.webp)
![Zorggroep Apeldoorn by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/zoggroep-apeldoorn-blijf-editie-5-05.webp)
![Zorggroep Apeldoorn by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/zoggroep-apeldoorn-blijf-editie-5-01.webp)

### A brand that holds together

By developing Brand Design and Brand Activation from the same idea, a medium emerged in which content and form reinforce each other. No distant policy stories, but recognisable portraits and real voices. The calm visual language and tangible quality mean the story is held on to – literally and figuratively. That way you can feel what good care means, without it needing to be explained.

### Our role

We translated Zorggroep Apeldoorn's philosophy into a tangible brand story and safeguarded the coherence between content, design and production.

### Why this works

Because the medium is built on sincere stories and attention to detail, it creates connection and trust among readers.

![Zorggroep Apeldoorn by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/zoggroep-apeldoorn-blijf-editie-5-03.webp)

Source: https://merkbaar.nl/en/zorggroep-apeldoorn/ (Dutch original: https://merkbaar.nl/zorggroep-apeldoorn/)