Design Bridge and Partners launches brand identity for The Oncology Guide

Design Bridge and Partners has partnered with Founder, Charley Scott, alongside King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Chartwell Cancer Trust, Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) to create The Oncology Guide, a first-of-its-kind online resource for families to access information as they navigate the start of their child’s cancer journey. The new guide will provide video content and animations communicating important information related to diagnoses, treatments and procedures in a way that is simple for children and parents to understand.

With more than 1,800 children diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK, The Oncology Guide has been created to reduce the confusion and overwhelm experienced during this time. Inspired by the personal experience of Charley Scott, whose own daughter Jess was diagnosed with T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of two, the guide brings together patient-focused insight and medically certified information into an easily accessible single point of reference. Based on the challenges her family experience, Charley wanted to provide parents and children with some much needed clarity and reassurance whilst navigating this confusing period.

The creative concept focuses on giving back control to families, with The Oncology Guide being there to help parents and children when they need it the most. With simplicity at its core, The Oncology Guide aims to deliver all information in the simplest way possible.

Design Bridge and Partners collaborated with digital studio, Arcade Ltd, to bring The Oncology Guide app to life. By reducing all noise and streamlining the user navigation, Arcade has ensured a simple, intuitive and empathetic user experience whilst accessing this sensitive information.

The visual identity has been inspired by the aesthetics of classical medical journals combined with doctors’ notes, with key pieces of medical information highlighted, underlined and starred. By carefully balancing the reliability of scientific resources with the simplicity and human touch of the medical shorthand, Design Bridge and Partners has created a sense of reassurance for parents, as well as playfulness for children. The classical medical typographic style also informs the new logo, with an added playfulness from the incorporate of two eyes within the letter “o”s, used as a key storytelling device throughout the brand. The eyes represent the windows to a person’s soul and reflect the personal journeys of the children and families who are impacted by child cancer.

To create the new brand font, Design Bridge and Partners collaborated with Monotype to pair two fonts together (Etna and Bjorn), allowing the brand to communicate with both clarity and empathy. This will also optimise content for reading on-the-go or late at night, which is often the case for parents.

The visual identity will be incorporated into engaging, emotive and dynamic content across digital, OOH, social media and print.

The video content and messaging, created by shortfilms.london, has been crafted into bite-sized, family-friendly films showcasing real questions and conversations between children and oncology practitioners. Each video explains what to expect on your cancer journey, with the doodle animation style helping to communicate this complicated and daunting content in an engaging and family friendly way.

“ I am over the moon with the end result of The Oncology Guide and know from first hand experience that this resource will make a world of difference to parents and children navigating the challenging period following a cancer diagnosis. This one-stop-shop of information and its engaging and family-friendly manner is just what we needed at that difficult time – it’s a real privilege to be able to help other families going through this journey.”

— Charley Scott says of The Oncology Guide

“It was an honour to create the visual identity for The Oncology Guide and be involved in making a positive impact on parents and children at this unimaginable time. By combining the classic medical aesthetic with simplistic annotations and a sprinkle of playfulness, we are confident that the branding will help cut through the noise, providing families with some much needed clarity and giving them back a sense of control as they navigate this challenging time.”

— Sam Cutler, Leadership Creative Director, Design Bridge and Partners