The problem
Rethink's website was last updated in 2011 and had become a monolithic beast of a dumping ground without a clear strategy for growth. The design was dated and crucially the websites were unresponsive, which was having a significant impact on SEO. The main corporate website had become a depository for information and was difficult to navigate.
In recent years, the public profile of mental health has risen dramatically and the requirement for a fresh and fully integrated website was paramount to Rethink's proposition. Rethink provides groups and services that directly help people living with mental illness and their carers, they have a wealth of information on their website, including award winning factsheets, and they run impactful and successful campaigns. However, you might not know this if you had visited their website. Worryingly, and given the mobile first policy of Google, you also might not discover this if you searched for help and support online.
The solution
We needed to get to know Rethink as a business, as a healthcare professional and as a beneficiary, so we embarked on an immersive series of workshops so we could understand their priorities, goals and ambitions for the future. We created personas and stories to support core journeys and a more intuitive navigation system. We researched and tested designs, labels and functionality with their users, finding and redefining specific issues related to people with and affected by mental illness. Ease of use, colour and imagery all being highly charged triggers for their beneficiaries.
We knew we needed to create a mindfully-designed responsive website that enables people looking for help, support and information to find it as quickly as possible. While providing easy access to advice and information and the ability to search for groups and services in their area we also needed to make it as straightforward as possible for people to support Rethink's work both financially and through their campaigns, with the ability to seamlessly donate and/or sign up for updates. This required a complete overhaul of their corporate website and a streamlined password protected membership section that enables people to manage their contact details, communication preferences and sign ups for events.
We collaborated with a capital C for this project, understanding that budget was a very real concern from the outset we on-boarded their lead IT developer to Dam's ways of working and cleared a desk for him at Dam Towers. The close partnership we created with them and their content strategists meant we had a realistic roadmap for delivery and launched in time for Mental Health Week.
