CAMHRA
A digital application of a new brand with a distinct and calming experience on the site
Project overview
The Centre for Anthropology and Mental Health Research in Action (CAMHRA) is a globally oriented and locally connected hub for cutting-edge anthropological research, education and public engagement on mental health. Housed within SOAS University of London, it’s necessary to be connected digitally with their parent organisation, while also being visually distinct for clarity on how and where to engage in CAMHRA’s programmes of work.
The Challenge
- Taking a completely new branding and applying it to web for the first time
- Creating a unique design that differentiates CAMHRA from SOAS while still linking the organisations
- Design clear and distinct user journeys that guides audiences, and creates a sense of calm
Features
- Maximising branding with bespoke SVGs
- Every page is A+ Website Carbon at launch
- Custom post types linking to other websites
A+
Website Carbon Rating
100%
Accessibility
0.02g
CO2 per homepage
The Process
CAMHRA did not have a previous site to work off of, so firstly, we delved into what the experience of CAMHRA needed to feel like and how people should move through the site. Keen on mirroring their research’s output, the aim was to make the site feel calm and guiding, being an example of an effective system of care. Our Head of Experience focused on easily recognisable visual cues for smooth and natural exploration through the site.
CAMHRA had strong brand guideline foundations to build on, but it became apparent if the assets were uploaded in the traditional sense, it would add unnecessarily large load times to the pages, thus the weight of the page from a digital sustainability perspective. This was a fun challenge for our team because they wanted to keep and honour the brand assets’ uniqueness. Exploring SVGs and its filters, they went down a manual but collaborative process to control the grain creation to make them as close to the originals as possible.
The Result
Working jointly with CAMHRA was a dream, blending their research with our expertise meant that we crafted a well-structured sitemap and user journeys supported by clear visual cues. An example is the arrows next to links that transitioned audiences over to the SOAS website. This linking was not only beneficial to front end users, but the CAMHRA team as well. The custom post-types for people profiles and news articles means the content is centrally managed on the SOAS site, minimising internal admin time.
Being able to manage and update the site was key, and through a detailed handover and CMS training CAMHRA were able to confidently launch and continually build out the site as it grows.
The final site provides a visually striking cosy, safe space to gain insight into mental health via research and education. In addition, at an A+ Website Carbon rating it also helps us move one step closer to our mission of a more sustainable Internet.
