The Bridge Foundation

Brand development, illustration and website modernisation enabling a digital first referral model and marketing drive.

Brand Development
Website & UX Design
Website Optimisation
Copywriting
Content Production

The Bridge are leaders in child and family mental health, they specialise in providing in-depth psychotherapeutic support, to make a difference to children, young people, and adults who are suffering mental health difficulties.

In partnership with their leadership team, we developed The Bridge’s brand identity, leading to the creation of a visually engaging and user friendly website that has already had a huge impact on their confidence, communications and referrals. Read on to learn more…

the challenge

The Bridge were faced with the challenge of catering to a wide range of audiences with diverse needs, including individuals dealing with complex mental health difficulties, parents seeking support for their children, mental health professionals, and grant-makers.

Another challenge was managing the perception of the organisation as a charity. While they operate as a charitable organisation offering free support to beneficiaries, their diverse income model includes some fee-paying (not-for-profit) services, leading to misconceptions about receiving free support.

In the past, their website was lacking a clear representation of their expertise and identity. There was also a hesitation internally around how to articulate their mission and market their services, whilst remaining mindful of the private nature and sensitivities surrounding their work.

our approach

Our approach to the work involved a collaborative effort with their CEO and Fundraising and Communications Manager. This was guided by a user experience workshop and customer persona mapping to help us truly understand their audiences.

We recognised the importance of developing their existing visual assets into a three dimensional brand identity that reflected their values and resonated with diverse audiences. To achieve this, we created a bespoke, colourful set of character illustrations and iconography that communicated their services in a human and approachable tone, speaking to a wider audience, whilst also conveying credibility and expertise.

These visual elements contribute to establishing a sense of trust, portraying The Bridge as a welcoming and inclusive organisation.

the outcome

The website has become a primary source for referrals, allowing people to reach out easily and confidently without picking up the phone.

It has enhanced their credibility and helped The Bridge to think deeper about their public-facing image; and embrace marketing and communications as essential components of their work.

They have witnessed significant growth in their social media, with increased engagement (+286%) and reach (+136%) on Instagram, and increased engagement (+259%) and followers (+198%) LinkedIn. The relaunch of their blog has been another positive by-product, offering valuable insights to end users and re-energising the voice of the organisation. Their newsletter has also benefited, the Spring 23 edition went to 860 recipients, 49.2% open rate (against a sector average of 25%) and 17.5% click rate.