Catching Your Soul: A Look at Our Logo

Our logo is unique, causing some to wonder...what is it?

It's a soul catcher, and it represents physical and spiritual well-being.

Many northwest indians wore small versions of the soul catcher around their necks and placed large soul catchers in the smoke holes of their homes to make sure family souls could not escape.

You see, the soul catcher was critically important to health.

If a soul were to vacate a body it could be replaced with disease. It was the soul catcher's job to catch the soul, forcing a return to the body and protecting people against illness. The tribal Shaman used soul catchers as a powerful medicinal tool. Eventually, it became a universal symbol of physical and spiritual well-being.

The soul catcher, which illustrates two bears keeping watch in opposite directions, represents CPHI's dedication to improving public health. Marvin Oliver, an internationally acclaimed printmaker and sculptor with work displayed around the world, designed the soul catcher in 1981.

This soul catcher is a registered trademark of the University of Washington School of Public Health, to which the Center for Public Health Informatics belongs, and cannot be used without express written permission from the school.

The Center for Public Health Informatics is housed in the Department of Health Services in the University of Washington
School of Public Health in partnership with the Division of Biomedical & Health Informatics, School of Medicine.
Based in Seattle, Washington, USA. All rights reserved.