E3 Media helps osteoporosis group promote ‘bone’ message

E3 Media is designing a website for the National Osteoporosis Society that the charity hopes will encourage children to look after their bones.

NOS appointed the Bristolbased digital group to create the Bones 4 Life website last autumn following a competitive pitch. E3 had recently redesigned the NOS main site, which went live last June. The new website will replace print-only materials for schools, including lesson plans, which featured a photographic skeleton character called Oscar.

‘We asked E3 for a fun and engaging website in which the design needed to move away from the association of bones with “dead” skeletons, and to illustrate bone-healthy messages in an appealing way,’ says an NOS spokesman.

The educational website will communicate through a set of characters who promote three main routes to bone health – Munch (pictured) eats calciumrich foods, Blaze represents the sun, while Sneakers promotes weight-bearing exercise – and fight ‘baddies’ Bonecrusher Burt and his side-kick Knuckles.

‘NOS wanted to get rid of the dead-bone connotations of the old character and move towards the idea of the bone as a living thing. We came up with new, vibrant characters that wouldn’t preach to the children, but live in a colourful world and tell stories,’ the spokesman adds.

Two versions of the website, www.bones4life.org, are available for teachers and other adults, and children aged seven to 11. It launches on 21 May.