HeadFIT For Life, a new mental fitness platform spearheaded by The Duke of Sussex was launched earlier this week by the Ministry of Defence in partnership with The Royal Foundation’s Heads Together campaign and Kings College London, with clinical advice from Dr Vanessa Moulton. The tool, designed collaboratively by The Royal Foundation and the Ministry of Defence (MOD), has been created specifically for the defence community.
Plymouth Science Park-based company Made with Maturity and Plymouth production company Denhams have played a key role in the development of the national campaign. Denhams was commissioned by The Royal Foundation as the creative team behind the online tools and produced all the video content.
The HeadFIT For Life campaign aims to support defence personnel to take a more proactive approach to their mental health and mental fitness by providing 24/7 access to self-help tools that can enhance mood, drive, and confidence, and help with managing the stress of everyday life.
The website was designed and created by web development agency Made with Maturity, who are based at Plymouth Science Park. Made with Maturity are an award-winning agency who specialise in UX design and web development, and have worked on other projects with the NHS, James Martin, the University of Plymouth and Exeter City Council. They designed and created the HeadFIT For Life website, ensuring efficient user experience and compatibility across a range of devices.
Made with Maturity worked with another Plymouth Science Park tenant, cyber security specialists Bluescreen IT, to ensure that the site is secure and protected from cyber threats.
Ben Stirling, Project Director at Made with Maturity, said: “It’s an honour to work on a project like this for our defence personnel, with mental fitness at its focus. We are a team of digital creatives who build first-class projects pixel by pixel, day by day, ensuring that our clients are provided with long-lasting results.
“For this project we took careful consideration of colour palettes, typography and imagery to appeal to the defence audience and contrast with conventional mental health websites. We used page transitions and subtle animations to bring a sense of calm and an ease of flow around the website.
“The HeadFIT For Life campaign provides much-needed access to resources for the defence community and we are proud to have made this possible through the development of a user-friendly and accessible website.”
On HeadFIT For Life, users can find tools such as breathing exercises, body posture and relaxation techniques. All the tools and resources on the site have been designed for all defence personnel, whether they are new recruits, long-serving personnel, veterans, civilian staff or those in uniform.
Fay Davies, Business Development Manager at Plymouth Science Park, said: “This is a great example of the amazing work taking place in Plymouth, often by unsung heroes. Awareness of mental health is growing, and the HeadFIT For Life platform is a fantastic resource for MOD personnel to keep their minds, not just their bodies, healthy. It’s fantastic to see our tenants at the Park involved in such an important project, and one that will have a positive impact on so many people’s lives and wellbeing.”