Leading eye health with vision and authority

Years of incremental change had left the RCOphth brand fragmented. New colours had been introduced without a clear rationale. Multiple typefaces were being used across communications, each pulling the brand in a different direction. Without a distinctive visual language, content often felt either inconsistent or anonymous, leaving the brand disjointed. There were also clear disconnects within the identity itself. The logo included yellow, yet the wider brand palette didn’t, impacting brand recognition and presence. The website also predated the College’s most recent visual identity work entirely, creating an experience that felt disconnected from the organisation behind it.

Beyond the visual look, the digital challenges ran deeper. Built in 2019, the website had become increasingly difficult to manage and no longer met modern accessibility expectations. Members struggled to find key information, while internal teams found content management time-consuming and restrictive. Analytics also revealed that fewer than 2% of users returned to the site, a concerning figure for an organisation built around membership, professional development and ongoing engagement.

The brief was simple: create a brand and website that matched the quality, authority and ambition of the College itself.

Rather than start again, we looked for the logic within the existing brand and built upon it. This gave us the foundations to build on with greater focus and long-term vision. The colour palette was restructured around teal and yellow, creating a system rooted in colours already associated with the College.

We then introduced supporting tints for greater flexibility while maintaining consistency and re-establishing the relationship between the logo and the wider visual identity.

For typography, we simplified a fragmented system into a single typeface: Hanken Grotesk. Its refined, highly legible forms balance professionalism with warmth, helping the College communicate with clarity and confidence across both digital and print applications.

Inspired by the science of sight, optics and the behaviour of light, we created ‘The Spectrum’’ – a new, graphical device that connects directly to ophthalmology while providing a versatile visual language for the brand. The Spectrum not only reflects the mechanics of vision, but also the breadth of the profession, the diversity of its members and the progression of a career in eye health.

Turning to the website, we brought all of these elements together within a flexible and accessible digital experience. Designed to adapt to different audiences and content types, it can be expressive when promoting events, campaigns and membership, while remaining calm and functional when users need information quickly.

Over time, the site had grown into a vast collection of content covering examinations, events, publications, training, news, guidance and member services. Important information was often difficult to find, and users regularly had to navigate through multiple sections to complete simple tasks. To address this, we started by reorganising the site’s structure around the needs of its audiences. Navigation was simplified, content was grouped more logically, and key journeys were redesigned to help users reach information faster.

For prospective members, we created a membership finder that guides people towards the most suitable membership option for their stage of training or career. For existing members, we improved the connections between content, making it easier to discover relevant examinations, events, publications and resources without relying on search alone.

We also introduced several new features to better support the College’s wider goals. A dedicated media centre helps communicate RCOphth’s views on important issues affecting eye health. A public member directory increases visibility for members, while a new publications library brings together hundreds of resources into a single searchable and filterable hub.