Designing a practical response to a gap in dementia care

How do you make uncertainty easier to navigate?

Having previously supported the Dementia Change Action Network with its messaging and brand development, we were asked to help solve a more specific challenge: how to support people during the often lengthy wait between an initial GP visit and a memory assessment.

During this period, people can be left with little guidance about what happens next – creating confusion, anxiety and uncertainty at an already difficult time.
Information existed, but it was fragmented, often clinical in tone and rarely focused on the immediate questions people had while they waited.

For DCAN, the challenge was to turn a complex process into something people could understand, navigate and act on.

The approach

Defining the response
We proposed a dedicated resource – Next Steps – focused specifically on what people need to know and do while waiting for a memory assessment. We also explored how it could reach people at the right moment, including through NHS services.

Creating a simple journey
We organised Next Steps around a clear three-step structure designed to make the experience feel more manageable. Each stage addressed a different need: understanding the assessment process, navigating day-to-day uncertainty and finding available support.

Translating complexity into clarity
We turned complex clinical processes and specialist input into straightforward, actionable guidance, using plain English and a calm, reassuring tone of voice.

Designing for moments of uncertainty
We designed the resource around how people would actually use it – often while worried or overwhelmed – making information easy to navigate and helping people quickly understand what they could do next.

What we delivered

  • Strategy and concept development for Next Steps
  • Information architecture and user journey
  • Content development and plain-English copy
  • Visual design and digital experience
  • Design and build of the Next Steps website
  • Approach to reaching people through NHS services

Trusted by the NHS since 2020

Since 2020, Next Steps has been used by NHS services to support thousands of people waiting for a memory assessment, providing clear, practical guidance at one of the most uncertain points in the dementia diagnosis journey.

“HopeWorks’ ability to mix a strategic mind with first-rate design and excellent copy is a rare combination. And their astute grasp of my field – personalisation and dementia – gives their input an added dimension.”

Ian McCreath
Director
Family for Every Child

Family for Every Child needed a website that could communicate its mission more clearly while handling the practical demands of a global organisation, from donations and CRM integration to video, research and a substantial resource library. We rewrote the core content, developed the new visual direction, directed video content and oversaw the build through to launch. The result was a more open, engaging and flexible website that reduced ongoing costs while giving Family for Every Child a stronger platform for its work, supported by an ongoing communications relationship rather than a one-off redesign.
Think Local Act Personal

We developed a messaging framework, website, a suite of downloadable resources, and ongoing communications to support the promotion of Think Local Act Personal's 'Making It Real' initiative – resulting in a significant growth in audience reach.
Dementia Change Action Network

The Dementia Change Action Network, or DCAN, was set up to connect people and organisations around one shared goal – to tackle key challenges faced by people living with dementia, together.

We were approached by DCAN to support them through the whole branding process – from defining key messages and naming the organisation through to visual identity and design of key publications.

Wellbeing Teams

Wellbeing Teams set out to rethink homecare around health, purpose and connection, and needed a brand that felt as different as the model itself. We developed the identity, messaging, website and wider communications, creating a flexible system that helped the organisation reach people looking for care, potential team members, commissioners and policymakers – while building visibility, attracting funding and strengthening its reputation as an innovative voice in social care.
UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment support British businesses to sell their products and services overseas. For their upcoming trade missions to Asia, they needed an identity that would promote what they do while remaining respectful to local markets and cultures. The new imagery needed to look fresh and modern, highlight the diversity of British business, and communicate the future-focused attitude of British commercial interests.
National Co-production Advisory Group

Logo design for the National Co-production Advisory Group – a group of people with lived experience of drawing on care and support who work together to promote personalised care and support at a national, regional and local level.
Family for Every Child

Around the world, millions of children are living a life on the move. Some children leave home to access rights and opportunities elsewhere; whereas other children are forced into moving to avoid war or conflict, to escape natural disasters, or for other reasons.

Family for Every Child wanted to highlight the challenges faced by children who are living their life on the move. They commissioned us to develop a brand identity for a digital awareness campaign, and to support this with key messages and the development of social media assets.
NHS

Wayfinding for a new NHS health centre in the borough of Knowsley, Merseyside.
Chinese Arts Centre

Our new website for Manchester's Chinese Arts Centre led to a post-launch increase in site visitors, social shares, and online shop sales.
Lion ALERT

A modern new website for the charity Lion ALERT, alongside designs for merchandise for their online shop.
Mirfield Town Council

Mills, Mines and Malt was created to bring new life to an old canal towpath in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, through a community arts trail rooted in the area’s industrial history. We developed a bright, distinctive identity, signage and printed maps designed to capture attention while still reflecting the character of the place.
Family for Every Child

We wrote, edited and designed Family Matters magazine from end to end, interviewing staff and supporters, shaping stories, writing donation appeals and creating links into the organisation’s wider website and fundraising activity. The magazine became a way to bring the work to life, deepen supporter engagement and give readers clear reasons to stay involved.
Family for Every Child

We wrote, edited and designed Family for Every Child's annual reports, bringing their story to life in an engaging way while meeting statutory reporting requirements.
Alzheimer's Society

We created a range of new materials for Alzheimer’s Society, for both internal and external use, including printed brochures, infographics, and colleague workshop aids. Each product was the result of an end-to-end collaborative service. From idea generation to copywriting, edits to final design, HopeWorks worked with Alzheimer’s Society every step of the way to ensure their message and training evolved in lockstep with social and political changes.
Helen Sanderson Associates USA

We designed and built a website for Helen Sanderson Associates USA, refreshing the brand in the process.

More work

  • Family for Every Child

    Brand refresh and website

  • Think Local Act Personal

    Web, resources and communications support

  • Dementia Change Action Network

    Branding, website and launch communications

  • Wellbeing Teams

    Branding, website and ongoing communications

  • UK Trade & Investment

    UK in China brochure design

  • National Co-production Advisory Group

    Logo design

  • Family for Every Child

    Childhood on the Move campaign

  • NHS

    Wayfinding

  • Chinese Arts Centre

    Web

  • Lion ALERT

    Web

  • Mirfield Town Council

    Arts trail branding and wayfinding

  • Family for Every Child

    Donor magazine strategy, writing and design

  • Family for Every Child

    Annual report writing, editing and design

  • Alzheimer’s Society

    Communications support

  • Helen Sanderson Associates USA

    Web design and build

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