Our first awareness of DATUS came via an old colleague, who said his friend was having issues with their domain and would we be willing to take a look.
DATUS Enabling Recovery is a grassroots peer-led charity that was conceived, founded and developed by a group of individuals in recovery in 2007. All their services are delivered by individuals in recovery, which they believe is a significant factor in their success at engaging with stigmatised groups.
From a quick conversation with the team, it became apparent that their DNS and hosting had been severely neglected, leading to errors when users attempted to visit the old DATUS website, and an inability to access or update some of the information.
The incumbent host couldn’t be reached, so to stabilise the situation (and with DATUS’s blessing) we migrated the domain to get DNS control and quickly put a holding page together for the domain that presented a more reassuring message, while we discussed with the DATUS team what they wanted to do moving forward.
We settled on an updated brand and new website that would help DATUS into the next phase of their growth.
A new logo and brand identity
The previous DATUS logo (below left) featured the concept of a signpost, symbolising choice, direction and change – all critical parts of recovery. The team were keen that this message remained, but that the logo be updated to feature a brighter colour scheme and typography that would work with a new website.
For the new version (below right) we used symmetrical arrows to highlight the peer supported journey, with rounded corners to give it a softer, modern feel. The typography retains the rounded feel of the original branding, but with a bolder, more contemporary font that gives it a refreshed look.
The ‘T’ in the logo was also adjusted to reflect the shape of the logo, meaning that even in cases the wordmark were to be used alone, an element of the logo would persist.
Finally, blue was chosen to reflect the themes of calm, stability, and healing that are central to DATUS’s purpose.
With the client happy with this new look-and-feel, we set about the task of creating a brand new website that would use the same simple, accessible look-and-feel to get across the DATUS mission, and service their key audiences.
Optimized for better information retention
The DATUS website was designed using a clean, minimal layout with bite-sized information that is easy to skim through. Imagery and colours are used sparingly and are stripped back so as to not overwhelm users and show them only what they need to see at any one time.
Showcasing history, services, projects and support
Open meeting schedules
DATUS has several open meetings and regularly updates their schedule on a PDF document. This PDF can be updated by DATUS as the programme evolved, and is automatically embedded on the Open Meetings page allowing users to view and download new schedules.
Elearning content
We implemented a customised Learning Management System (LMS) hub where users can enrol in several courses and access their learning materials. Additionally, site administrators can add and manage courses themselves, reducing the need to contact us for minor updates and lowering ongoing maintenance overhead.
Courses and quizzes
The Learning Hub allows for users to learn the course content online and test their knowledge with quizzes at the end of the course. They can also view how they did and see where they can improve.
Crisis resources
We felt it critical when talking about addiction and recovery to provide for any user who might be in crisis. DATUS isn’t a crisis resource, but they know from experience the best places to reach out to.
We’re of course delighted with the feedback from DATUS, and have continued to work with them on expanding the learning hub and on other initiatives supporting Integrated Recovery Cities. We look forward to continuing to support the amazing work they do.
We highly recommend learning more about DATUS, and making more people aware of peer-led recovery.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are resources available.
