THE PROJECT
A multi-faceted approach
Sailability, RYA’s national programme, enables people with disabilities to try sailing and take part regularly. Our work formed two defined workstreams. The first, to create a compelling communications campaign to engage more disabled sailors and widen participation in the sport, helping them build a lifetime habit of activity. The second to transform a pilot paper-based evaluation model into a scalable digital platform. We designed and built Sailactivity, a bespoke tool designed around the needs of clubs in the UK which measures their impact on people’s activity level.
THE CONTEXT
Marketing materials & toolkits for multiple audiences
Based on research into the different Sailability sailor types, specific messaging around the benefits and outcomes were turned into a suite of marketing materials and templates. These were designed to be used at both a national and local level, with the possibility for local clubs to customise outputs to their specific offer and community.
The materials were widely user tested and the toolkits were delivered to a pilot group of clubs with training on how to best use them.
USER TESTING
Developing messages and creative options
We conducted a series of user-testing sessions to garner the feedback of the various different audiences that our campaign needed to represent, work for and engage. That process heavily informed the development and final delivery of our campaign and communications toolkit.
PACKAGING SAILABILILTY
Visualising delivery principles and sailor outcomes
We developed a series of brand-aligned icons to introduce the Sailability delivery principle and values to new audiences.
RAISING AWARENESS
Targeted marketing materials
The toolkit comprised of ready-to-use marketing materials including social media posts, presentation decks, posters, email signatures and much more. All items iterated through messaging options that targeted the research-driven audience segmentation.
Campaign rollout
Templates & training
The campaign was designed to work at national and club level. The RYA supports many centers offering Sailability, each with a unique offer, so it was vital that clubs could use and take ownership of the materials in a way that worked for their clubs. Our toolkit and templates, along with the instructions and training we delivered allowed them to do this in a way that promoted consistency and coherency at scale.
CAMPAIGN AND MESSAGING
A moving identity
Bringing the campaign and platform together
EVALUATING SAILABILITY
Evaluation, from paper to platform
RYA, like many organisations needed to evaluate the impact of their programme. The variety of clubs was matched by the hotchpotch of tracking tools ranging in sophistication and coverage. Many had no systems in place at all.
This left the RYA with an incomplete and inconsistent picture of the fantastic things the programme and volunteers were achieving. We worked with their regional teams and prospective users to map their needs and conceive a digital platform to scale their evaluation efforts. Their digital journey had begun.
WHAT'S THE CONTEXT?
Understanding the client
WHAT DRIVES BEHAVIOUR?
Understanding users
HOW WILL IT BE USED?
User experience
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?
The environment
Where are we heading?
Understanding direction
WHAT NEXT?
Understanding feedback
Scoping requirements
Translating your needs into a technical spec
We develop the system architecture using an agile approach working in a collaborative way throughout the project.
AGILE DELIVERY
Rapid dynamic prototypes
A NEW PLATFORM
Data that makes a difference
Our cloud-based platform provides engaging and easy-to-use flows for logging activities and achievements. Administrative users have access to a variety of bespoke dashboards designed around pre-defined KPIs and agreed metrics for outcomes and impact across clubs.
MAINTENANCE AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
User-driven design
Working with real data and talking directly to people allows researchers to understand the real needs of a product’s users. User insight should always play a fundamental role in the development of a system.
PLATFORM DETAILS UX/UI
Different types of users
Multi-layered UX design tailored to five different types of user.
AN ADMIN'S PERSPECTIVE
Customisable data views
Our data visualisation platform settings allow admins to customise their view
to better compare specific sets of data side-by-side.
THE EXPERIENCE
User engagement
There are many activity trackers in the market already targeting and tapping into users’ interest in their performance but what is there for people less driven by pure attainment? Our platform targets the many other benefits people realise from being more active and helps them map their engagement and achievements in a more qualitative way.
BESPOKE SOFTWARE
Image-recognition software
We developed a bespoke image recognition software to translate and upload paper form questionnaire responses straight to the database.
CHALLENGES
Accessibility
Catering to a diverse audience inclusive of special-needs users, accessibility design considerations were at the core of our design choices.
Font choices, type sizes and contrast ratios were informed by established guidelines.
We also considered the needs of people affected by all types of daltonism (colour-blindness) to ensure maximum accessibility.
DATA VISUALISATION
Measuring activity shift and impact
Coupling bespoke infographics with intuitive interactivity can deliver powerful actionable insight to users and admins alike. Done well, it can inform decision-making at strategic, managerial or policy level.
WHAT THE CLIENT SAID
As someone who has purchased complex digital products in my previous roles I was hesitant to engage in what I know can often become a costly, complex, all-consuming process. By contrast, the initial launch of our product to a select group of participants went live without a hitch, despite the GDPR laws kicking in a few weeks prior to launch.
Throughout our work I found Ben and the team easy to deal with and they managed to find a balance between giving me the detailed understanding I needed without drowning me in jargon. We delivered our beta application on time and budget. We are able to extract the data we need and have an engaged audience of users, who we are looking to expand ready for the next sailing season.
We have also delivered an exciting marketing campaign and strategy which the team are supporting us in rolling out with our delivery partners across the UK.
Joff McGill
Sailability Manager