How we live Digital For Good with The Cybersmile Foundation

it’s very easy to be all in on something you feel passionate about. You might overlook the flaws in your favourite football team (and then feel let down when they miss out on winning the league. Again). Or, be amazed that your colleagues don’t like the bands you love, no matter how many times you try to explain why they’re so great. And you see the same behaviour in digital marketing too: a belief that digital can do no wrong.?

Being a digital agency we do tend to get excited about things in the digital world of course, but we also refuse to keep on the rose-tinted spectacles (with graphical HUD and Alexa integration) of the digital party. We prefer to think of ourselves as digital realists. Because if we don’t see the problems how can we fix them and make digital even better??

Digital is amazing, and has had profound and positive impacts on how we live our lives. But nobody can deny there’s a very dark side to it, and it’s one that is becoming more and more apparent each year. The growth of the ‘digital bads’ has been exacerbated by a sluggish response from governments and a refusal to take effective action by many of the businesses that have control over digital platforms. That’s why we believe in Digital For Good: creating positive experiences in digital for people.

One of the most insidious forms of digital bad that has grown rapidly in recent years is cyberbullying. But some standout facts about this grim reality of online life are:

• 59% of teens say they’ve experienced at least one form of cyberbullying
• The risk of suicide is almost double among young people who are victims of cyberbullying
• Young people feel nobody is helping fix the issue (66% say social media companies aren’t doing enough, 79% say governments are failing)

As part of our commitment to Digital For Good we have partnered with the Cybersmile Foundation, a charity that aims to make the online space safer and more inclusive. As part of our partnership we’ve given them access to our skills for free to help improve one of their core activities: Stop Cyberbullying Day.?

Cybersmile Foundation co-founder Scott Freeman explained the impetus behind the project:?

“The day has grown massively since it started. We have celebrities involved, big corporations, and so many online influencers all supporting the day. So we had to think about making sure we provide the right digital infrastructure to get people to what they need effectively in terms of information. Life is now more and more moving online and so it’s important for the digital representation of Stop Cyberbullying Day to be as importantly considered as the messaging and other activities that support the day.”

An upgraded digital presence

The first stage of our work was to reimagine the identity for Stop Cyberbullying Day. The existing visual identity and branding had not been updated for some time and was in need of a refresh.?

After refreshing the identity for Stop Cyberbullying Day we moved into the next stage of the project: user experience and website design.?

The existing site was no longer fit for purpose and had important structural issues that were hindering the ability of users to explore and understand Stop Cyberbullying Day and get involved with the movement.?

Scott and his team were aware of the issues but implementing changes to the site was always a challenge, as he explains:

“We knew there were problems, but it’s always been very difficult for us to tackle it because Stop Cyberbullying Day isn’t funded - the charity supports it. So building a new site, making big improvements to things like branding or the onsite experience, were never something we could really consider. Then with the partnership with Organic in place we suddenly had a way to air our concerns and start to make significant changes.”

It’s this unique perspective on approaching this type of project that has had the biggest impact on Scott.

“In the digital sense the real learning curve for us has been to think about people’s experiences and journeys. It’s too easy to just default to the way you consume and use digital. The way I use our website and see it is totally different to how someone fresh to it does. We were encouraged by Organic to think about the different types of users and what they might want, and really delve into their behaviour and journeys. It also brought home the importance of making sure we think about vulnerable people coming to the site, and issues around accessibility.”

A brighter future online

With the site live we’re delighted to have worked with The Cybersmile Foundation to build a platform that helps them engage a wider audience, encourages interaction, and supports people around the world in fighting back against cyberbullying.?

The Cybersmile Foundation has big hopes for the new site. For Scott and the team it goes beyond people thinking the site and new branding look good, though obviously that’s important:?

“We’re hoping the site drives more uptake for Stop Cyberbullying Day, through the improved UX and UI. And we’re really looking forward to it encouraging more corporate partners to support the day, to help drive visibility for us online.”?

You can check out the site here: https://stopcyberbullyingday.org/ and we urge you to sign up to Stop Cyberbullying Day. #DigitalForGood

You can also see our case study for identity development here and website design and build here.