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Made for all Australians regardless of nationality, culture or language, Compass is an inclusive website navigating the difficult topic of elder abuse.
Role
Lead Designer
Created at
Wunderman Thompson WPP
Disciplines
Product strategy
Naming
Wireframing
User testing
Creative direction
User interface design
Design system
Sector
Government and NFP
Challenge
Elderly Abuse Action Australia approached Wunderman Thompson to build and develop an information and help platform to guide and direct people who are experiencing elder abuse.
The National Elder Abuse Knowledge Hub (NEAKH) was created to do just this, but this highly sensitive and often challenging topic needed to be treated in a unique and special way. The hub had to offer a simple experience that made it easy to find guidance on the next best action to take.
A new brand needed to be created from scratch. Nothing like this existed before in Australia, and with several levels of Government stakeholders invested in the platform, the brand not only had to cut-through the sensitive environment, but the way in which it was applied on the site had to ensure accessibility as its primary aim.
Mission and tone
After establishing rules around who we are, who we serve, and what we do, a mission and vision was developed to summerised into a mission statement during a collaborative workshop between the EAAA, The Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, and Wunderman Thompson. This statement would hold true throughout the brands development:
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We want to inform, educate, engage & connect
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By positioning ourselves as a trusted, supportive source for older people & who they intersect with Using a genuine, active and accessible voice
From this, guidelines around language and tone needed to be created in order to set the boundaries for the team on this sensitive topic. Simple and easy to understand rules were established that would be used throughout the hub, and any external comes that would be created to promote the hub:
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Be compassionate
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Be simple & direct
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Use plain English
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Be truthful
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Be clear
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Be hopeful
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Be helpful
Compass
With a mission, vision and tone established, we began creating a name for the hub, that would simply and easily tell a viewer what the purpose and ambition for it was. This name not only had to explain what the hub was built for, but also have a unique enough hook that it stood out in comms and marketing. After extensive desktop research and competitive analysis in both the health and parallel sectors, two unique names for this sector were put into a targeted focus group;
Heard - Hub of Elder Abuse Resources & Directory
Compass - Guiding action on Elder Abuse
While HEARD was slightly ahead of Compass in the quantitative metrics, in reviewing the qualitative responses to both names, Compass was chosen for being more appropriate. Respondents recognised Compass as providing people with direction, and guiding them on how they can seek assistance, which is closely aligned to the objective of the website.
With a name established, it was time to bring the visual to life. To elevate the hubs single-minded purpose of providing clarity in the fight against a complex issue, we adopted a typographic approach. The Compass logo elevates simplicity and legibility. The subtle nod to the point of the compass on the descender of the 'p' denotes the desired outcome from our platform – a clear, informed sense of direction for the user's next step.
The clean and modern approach reflects the sites helpful accessibility.
A colour palette has been developed using high-contrast colours for maximum accessibility, as well as a photography treatment that needed to not only solve for a diverse range of audiences, but needed to ensure we did not use images containing acts of abuse, anger or suggestions of violence, or a feeling of hopelessness.
Design System
A comprehensive Design System for the platform was developed that used atomic design principles to break down the site into the pieces the development team needed for build.
Conclusion
The product has grown from website, to a podcast series, webinars and is an industry leader in the fight against elder abuse. See it live at www.compass.info
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