Guide Dogs and Futurebrand launch support platform for low-vision Australians
Guide Dogs NSW/ACT has launched a holistic support platform for those with low vision, with the design created in partnership with Futurebrand Australia.
The platform — ‘SeeWay’ — is a national service provider for Australians losing their vision who don’t receive other formal support because they are not legally blind. The Seeway brand was created to “bridge the gap” by providing people with practical resources and emotional support.
Describing itself as the next chapter in Guide Dogs’ legacy, Seeway showcases the organisation’s impact beyond the much-loved dogs.
Guide Dogs’ CEO Dale Cleaver said it marks an important milestone for both the organisation and its clients.
“We remain committed to empowering people at every stage of their vision loss journey,” he said in a media release. “I’m proud to have contributed to the research, design, and launch of the pilot program that lays the foundation for this next chapter in our legacy.”
Futurebrand Australia worked with Guide Dogs to create the brand’s identity, including its name, architecture, strategy, user experience, and language.
It marks a continuation of their strong partnership, after first collaborating in 2018. In 2021, Futurebrand developed another redesign for Guide Dogs, from which it took inspiration for Seeway.
“Accessibility is front of mind in all the work that we do for Guide Dogs and now SeeWay,” Rich Curtis, CEO of Futurebrand Australia, told Mumbrella. “The brand is most definitely designed with that at the forefront, so it’s easy for people with low vision to engage with it.”
He said everything — from the typography, to the colour palette, the layouts, and more — is designed for optimum accessibility.
Curtis said Seeway blends practical guidance with emotional support.
“I think it’s the first of its kind, in terms of that combination,” he said.
“People with low vision need emotional support as much as practical support. So much of what SeeWay offers is firstly helping people navigate what can often be quite an uncoordinated ecosystem, and along the way, offering them psychosocial support as they adapt to their low vision circumstances.”
The Seeway team will be bringing the brand to life across different programs, initiatives, and services, to empower more people with low vision.
“At the moment, they’re very focused on professionals in order to spread the word,” Curtis said.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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Dale Cleaver
FutureBrand
FutureBrand Australia
Guide Dogs
Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
Rich Curtis
SeeWay
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