Helping Hackney’s youth stay well online

My latest website overhaul project is for Hackney's youth charity, Off Centre. They are a lovely organisation which helps young people who live, work or study in Hackney deal with issues such as violence, depression, neglect, sexual health, family breakdown and all the other things that can have such a huge and lasting impact on people. I was really excited to be working with them on a new site, as they have a real opportunity to make a positive difference by using the online medium to reach and communicate with young people who need support. Having just gone through a rebranding, they wanted a new website that reflected the new brand ID as well as the vibrancy and energy of Hackney, one that would appeal to their core audience of inner-city 13-25-year olds. The site had to feel like a place that young people could identify with, a place where they would feel welcome, and most importantly, a place that didn't feel clinical or too far-removed from the environment where they live. We opted for an urban illustrative design, allowing the colours of the new brand to stand out. Because Hackney is such a culturally-diverse area, the illustrations also ensured that no specific race, age, social or ethnic background was depicted photographically, meaning anyone in their core audience could identify with the site.

Filled with helpful information, activities and explanations, I think the new site will be a rich resource for Hackney's young people. I think it looks really amazing, if I do say so myself! It's definitely one of the sites I'm most proud of, for many reasons.

Oh, and in case you're interested, the site was built on the Squarespace platform once again, because it's so easy for non-techies to use. We'll also be plugging in a few 3rd party tools such as Eventbrite and Polldaddy to flesh out the functionality.