Mental Health Online

Here for you

Refreshing Mental Health Online to create a more supportive, inclusive and user-friendly digital platform.

Mental Health Online is an initiative of Swinburne University’s National eTherapy Centre and funded by Australia’s Federal Department of Health.

Client
Swinburne University
Mental Health Online
Sector
Mental Health
Services
Brand Visual Identity
UI/UX Design 

The situation

More than ever, the complex world we live in today presents a host of challenges that can take a toll on our mental health. 

Initially launched in 2008—and one of the first of its kind—Mental Health Online (MHO) was designed to provide easily accessible and effective online services and programs free of charge. MHO’s services help users understand and address their mental health needs through self-assessment, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and, as an additional option, virtual professional therapists.

At a time when the conversation around Mental Health is changing, and where technology is increasingly embedded in the life of individuals, MHO is uniquely placed to provide a comprehensive user experience. There is huge opportunity at the individual level to add value to users’ mental wellbeing, and at a national level, to further improve Australia’s mental health outcomes.

The challenge

As one of the first online mental health websites available, MHO had become very out-of-date in both its appearance, functionality and users expectations of an intuitive and engaging contemporary online experience.

These factors were harming the credibility and usability of the site and project, causing lower levels of engagement, meaning that the resource wasn’t helping the people it was intended for.

Our job was to understand and subsequently redesign the user experience and MHO brand to place the consumers needs and expectations at the core, and reduce friction by better communicating with the user throughout their journey on MHO.

A grid of social media tiles for Mental Health Online

The solution

The refresh project was holistic and comprehensive, taking into account the needs and wants of multiple stakeholders including consumers, healthcare professionals and MHO administrators and researchers.

Through a series of workshops, interviews, surveys and reviews we were able to uncover important insights into the audience, product, market and brand that defined the design brief.

What we delivered:

  • UI and UX design
  • Brand Identity Refresh
  • Communications and marketing collateral

A calming colour palette

A colour palette grid for Mental Health Online

Mental Health Online – public-facing UI

Mental Health Online homepage and programs page designs
Angle shot of iPad screen showing a Mental Health Online electronic newsletter

Mental Health Online – subscriber UI

A series of interface screens for logged in users of Mental Health Online