Mary Frances Trust

Overview of the project

Mary Frances Trust is the mental health and emotional wellbeing charity for adults in Surrey. The charity supports people for as long as they need, inspiring them to find ways to restore and maintain their mental wellbeing. It was established in 1994 by journalist and carer Mary and social worker Frances, who wanted to support the people who had previously used mental health services.

Following an online search for a web design company in Surrey, Mary Frances Trust approached Preface Studios to support a rebrand and website redesign.

The charity’s focus is on inspiring mental wellbeing and it runs support groups, one-to-one sessions, courses and activities to encourage people to engage in social activities such as yoga, women’s groups, self-defence, walking photography, crafts, badminton, creative writing or anxiety management. The courses were previously promoted via an emailed PDF and on Facebook Events, which was creating lots of administration. A big part of the new website design was a calendar and booking system that enabled people in the area to easily register their interest in an activity.

We also created a new brand and guidelines. The ‘M’ in the logo depicts two people holding hands to symbolise support and help. The look and feel stands out from other charities and is inviting and soft, with uplifting photographic imagery.

“The work that Preface Studios has done on our brand and website has been very well received and has revolutionised the way we work and communicate with the people we support and our team. This is a big step forward in helping to challenge mental health stigma and promote emotional self-care. This is even more critical during the COVID-19 outbreak and our website is helping us communicate our ongoing phone support and online groups. The new website helps communicate to adults in our area that we are there for them during a crisis or time of need.”