SBHCF

A new brand

When two long-standing charities at St Bartholomew’s Hospital came together to form a new organisation, they faced a deceptively simple challenge: how do you introduce yourself when, technically, you’ve never existed before?

The newly formed St Bartholomew’s Hospital Charitable Fund needed to establish a clear identity from the ground up – one that could balance the weight of history with a modern, accessible presence. Just as importantly, it needed to connect quickly with the people it exists to support: patients, staff, and the intermediaries who help them access funding.

This wasn’t just about creating a brand or building a website. It was about delivering a clear, effective charity brand and website design that helps people understand what support is available and how to access it.

The challenge

The merger brought together two charities with a shared purpose but different histories, audiences and ways of working. The new organisation needed to define itself clearly in a crowded and often confusing landscape, where multiple hospital-related charities and organisations already exist.

At the same time, its work is inherently practical and human. The Fund provides small but meaningful grants – from travel costs and essential household items to support for staff training and development. For many people, these interventions come at critical moments, when clarity and ease of access really matter.

That shaped our approach from the outset. The brand and website needed to feel:

• clear and easy to understand
• human and approachable
• grounded in real-world impact

And above all, they needed to remove friction – helping people move quickly from understanding to action.

We started by working closely with the team to figure out what the organisation should feel like – not just how it should look.

One of the challenges was getting the balance right. St Bartholomew’s has a huge amount of history behind it, and there was a temptation to lean into that. But go too far and it risks feeling formal or distant, which doesn’t reflect the day-to-day reality of the Fund’s work.

Some of that heritage – including references like the Wakering Shield – helped shape early thinking. But it was clear quite quickly that the new organisation needed its own identity, rather than something that felt inherited.

As the work developed, a simpler idea started to cut through. This is a charity that offers practical help at the point it’s needed. Not big gestures – small things that make a real difference.

That led us to the idea of the “helping hand”. It’s a straightforward way of describing what the Fund does, and it gave us something to build from visually as well.

From there, the identity came together in a fairly stripped-back way – keeping things clean, readable and easy to use rather than over-designed. The aim was something that feels human and dependable, without tipping into anything too worthy or overly polished.

Shaping the website around user needs

Once the direction for the brand was clear, we shifted focus to how the website needed to work.

We began by looking at what people actually come to the site to do. In most cases, it’s pretty simple – they want to understand what support is available, and how to access it.

That became the backbone of the structure.

We simplified the navigation and built clear routes through the site, so people can quickly get to:

• what the Fund does
• who it’s for
• how to apply

A lot of attention went into the application journey itself. For many users, this isn’t something they come to lightly, so the process needed to feel straightforward and not overwhelming.

We also had to account for the fact that applications often come via other people – hospital staff or partner organisations – not just individuals applying for themselves. The site needed to work just as well for them.

Designing for clarity and confidence

The design follows the same thinking as the brand – keep it clear, keep it usable, and don’t overcomplicate things.

We avoided long, dense pages where possible, breaking content up so it’s easier to scan and take in. Headings do a lot of the work, and calls to action are kept obvious without shouting.

The component system gives the team some flexibility too. They can highlight key information, guide people through a page, and update things over time without everything starting to feel cluttered again.

Case studies and real examples are used to show the kind of support the Fund provides. They’re simple, but they help make the work feel tangible rather than abstract.

Accessibility runs through all of this. Not just in terms of standards, but in how easy the site is to read, understand and move around – especially for people who may already be dealing with a lot.

The result is a brand and website that work together from the outset – clear, approachable and grounded in the realities of the Fund’s work.

For a new organisation, that clarity matters. It helps people quickly understand what support is available, and gives them the confidence to take the next step, whether that’s applying themselves or helping someone else to do so.

Just as importantly, it gives the team a platform they can build on – one that reflects who they are now, and can grow with them as the Fund continues to develop.

Drop us a line to see how we can revitalise your brand.

www.sbhcf.org.uk