What’s good design?

Designing a leaflet, no matter how good, will not cure cancer or heal a broken arm, yet designing a memorable guide to spotting the symptoms of breast cancer, may just save a life. From infographics and advertising campaigns to branding, there are numerous ways in which design can positively impact and support the health sector. 

Macmillian case study

In 2018 over 2.5 million people in the UK were living with Cancer. This is an increase of over 400,000 in the last 5 years. Cancer affects families from all social, cultural and economic backgrounds and charities such as Macmillan strive to do all they can to support those living with cancer to still live a meaningful life.

Like all charities, Macmillan relies on regular donations for them to continue to help and support people living with cancer. With numerous charities competing for donations, it is important for their brand to be relevant and relatable. The charity saw a shift in the type of care cancer patients needed and this led to a complete brand overhaul. Wolff Olins, an international branding agency was tasked with the charities refresh. They wanted to create a brand that was warm, approachable and ‘a public enabiler of cancer support’ (Wolff Olins, 2018).

They did this by creating a personal and relatable visual identity, using handmade fonts and playful imagery. ‘With an accessible brand and fresh confidence, fundraising increased by £26 million within two years’ (Wolff Olins, 2018) In this example good design created a visual identity that would see donations increase by 6% year on year. Just consider all the good £26 million could do.