Sphere (the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise) is a collaborative health research initiative working to fast-track health innovations from discovery to practice. Their mission is to bring together health professionals, researchers and communities to translate research into real-world healthcare outcomes.
Sphere approached Marameo following a recommendation from Sydney Health Partners, an organisation we had previously worked with. They needed a complete overhaul of their outdated website, which no longer aligned with the organisation’s capabilities or reputation. The legacy site had been live for several years and was becoming a barrier to both engagement and internal workflows.
While this was a familiar project type for Marameo, working with health organisations continues to align strongly with our focus and expertise. It’s what we do best, and it’s where we know we can make a real impact.
Key challenges
Despite their strong institutional reputation, Sphere faced common pain points experienced across the health research sector:
Fragmented content & navigation The previous site’s structure prevented users from easily exploring interconnected research programs, themes, and outputs.
Limited editorial flexibility The old CMS restricted editors from updating or reconfiguring pages independently, resulting in outdated content and bottlenecks.
Weak information architecture Important resources, programs, and people were buried, disconnected, or difficult to locate.
SEO and AI unreadiness Without structured data or a semantic content model, Sphere risked being overlooked by both traditional search engines and emerging generative AI tools.
Outdated visual design The legacy site failed to reflect Sphere’s progressive and collaborative mission, making it difficult to build credibility with partners and stakeholders.
These challenges are symptomatic of many health sector organisations where digital infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with institutional growth.
Our approach
We kicked off the project with an in-depth Discovery and Research phase, mapping user personas and content relationships to inform the site architecture. We interviewed key stakeholders, analysed their legacy site, and outlined a digital vision that put Sphere’s research strengths front and centre.
Our prior experience with health and research networks allowed us to fast-track the design and development strategy, building on proven models while tailoring every detail to Sphere’s unique needs.
Key Strategies
Our strategic pillars for Sphere’s redesign focused on structural clarity, editorial freedom and long-term adaptability:
Entity-based content architecture We introduced a sophisticated system of entity references. Programs are linked to themes, which are linked to people, which are linked to research outputs creating a tightly interwoven content model that reflects how real-world knowledge is connected.
Custom gutenberg block library Our reusable block system gave Sphere’s editors full flexibility to build dynamic, beautiful pages without developer input. Every content element hero banners, calls to action, staff grids, accordions is modular and consistent.
Content Discovery Focus The UX was rebuilt to support seamless exploration. Users can browse by theme, explore related programs and jump between connected profiles and publications.
Performance and SEO-ready infrastructure From fast load times to structured data and clean URLs, we implemented everything necessary for strong search performance and AI discoverability.
The solution
The result is a high-performance, content-rich website that showcases Sphere’s people, programs and research in an engaging, connected way. Information is now intuitively structured, allowing users to move fluidly between themes, researchers and outputs. Internally, the editorial team is fully empowered to manage content with ease using a powerful and intuitive custom block library.
The semantic architecture and structured data ensure long-term visibility, both in traditional search engines and increasingly in generative AI tools. The site not only reflects Sphere’s collaborative mission but supports it by offering a clear, dynamic and future-proofed digital foundation.
From the beginning, performance was a priority. We used lean, semantic HTML, optimised asset delivery and minimal plugin dependency to create a lightning-fast experience that performs consistently across all devices.
The site meets high standards in speed, accessibility, best practices and SEO. Providing a stable and compliant platform that supports both users and administrators.
* Google PageSpeed Insights is the global benchmark for website performance. It combines Google’s search influence, detailed performance metrics, practical recommendations, global accessibility, and alignment with modern web standards.
Tangible results 🎯
Seamless editorial autonomy
The custom Gutenberg block system empowered Sphere’s team to take full control of their content. Editors can now create, modify and publish pages independently, without relying on developers or external support.
The custom Gutenberg block system empowered Sphere’s team to take full control of their content. Editors can now create, modify and publish pages independently, without relying on developers or external support.
Improved content discoverability
The entity-based architecture surfaced connections between programs, themes, people and outputs. This interconnected structure has made the site more intuitive for users and more reflective of Sphere’s collaborative model.
The entity-based architecture surfaced connections between programs, themes, people and outputs. This interconnected structure has made the site more intuitive for users and more reflective of Sphere’s collaborative model.
Enhanced user experience
With clearer navigation and content relationships, users can now explore Sphere’s work through a natural flow of discovery. Early feedback highlights improved clarity, engagement and ease of use.
With clearer navigation and content relationships, users can now explore Sphere’s work through a natural flow of discovery. Early feedback highlights improved clarity, engagement and ease of use.
Strengthened SEO and AI readiness
Structured data, semantic markup and optimised page architecture have laid a solid foundation for both search engine visibility and future AI indexing.
Structured data, semantic markup and optimised page architecture have laid a solid foundation for both search engine visibility and future AI indexing.
Elevated brand perception
The redesigned site now mirrors the professionalism, innovation and clarity of Sphere’s mission. It has strengthened stakeholder confidence and positioned the organisation as a leader in translational health research.
The redesigned site now mirrors the professionalism, innovation and clarity of Sphere’s mission. It has strengthened stakeholder confidence and positioned the organisation as a leader in translational health research.
Successful partnerships
Don’t just take our word for it—hear directly from our clients about the success we’ve achieved together.
These testimonials highlight the power of collaboration and the value of working as one team.
“We’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with Mara and her team at Marameo Design. As a client, they have been an exceptional agency – understanding our requirements and delivering solutions that consistently exceed expectations. Their ongoing support for our digital and web needs has been invaluable, and we cannot recommend them highly enough for any digital services.”
Nisha Gurung
The George Institute
★★★★★
“Marameo are incredible to work with. They provide creative and intelligent digital solutions to complex marketing and communication challenges, with particular expertise in the research sector. They are incredibly reliable and have deep expertise in the rapidly evolving online world. Plus they are amazing people. I can’t recommend them highly enough.”
Jo Savill
Australian Research Data Commons
★★★★★
“We have engaged Marameo Design on two occasions for the development and delivery of two websites and continue to work with them on digital strategy and website maintenance. Mara and her team are truly an amazing team of professionals! They are always ahead of the pack – asking critical questions, thinking things through thoroughly and leading with digital expertise second to none. Working with them and their highly attentive customer service is a breeze. We can not recommend their services highly enough!”
HTQ
★★★★★
“Thank you SO MUCH for your incredible work. It’s an amazing result I am really proud of having worked on.
I know we’ve demanded perfection from you many times! – and you deliver. It’s been wonderful to work with a team who are so professional about achieving the best quality for the end product.”
Tim Johnson
The Australian Prevention Centre
★★★★★
“Marameo Design has shown a very high level of customer service, strategic advice and understanding of the audiences, as well as great skill and expertise in development delivery since taking over the rebuild and then the maintenance of the ARDC website.”
Adelle Coote
Australian Research Data Commons
★★★★★
“I have worked with Mara and Marameo Design for over three years and have been consistently impressed with the skills and knowledge that the team has. Work is delivered in a spirit of collaboration, on time and on budget. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.”
Lindsay Complin
★★★★★
“What can I say? Marameo rescued our website (Research Data Alliance)! It’s still work in progress but it just gets better. Really great team.”
Bridget Walker
Research Data Alliance
★★★★★
““Highly recommended team of professionals, who always responded quickly and efficiently. They provided us a great website created on WordPress which was also required to integrate with our existing Drupal backend sales system. An ethically focused company who are a pleasure to work with.”
Jo Savill
Australian Research Data Commons
★★★★★
“I can’t recommend Mara and the team at Marameo Design highly enough. Mara has been doing work for our company for many years. I have always found the Marameo Design team to be pro-active, efficient, super responsive and a pleasure to deal with. Nothing is too much trouble and they always go above and beyond in their service.”
Shelley Sher
La Corium Health
★★★★★
“I wanted Marameo as our agency knowing that I could trust them and their work output. We have just launch a whole new customised WordPress website in collaboration with Mara and her fabulous team, and I couldn’t be prouder of the output. Bonus that they’re all such cool cats to work with. I couldn’t recommend Marameo enough”
Katrina Batho
Liverty Housing
★★★★★
“I have worked with Marameo Design on several projects over the years. They have built Drupal and WordPress websites for my clients, or migrated a Drupal website to WordPress. Mara and her team are very valuable to have on the team as she has great insight into human web behaviour and offers best practice in terms of web design and usability. They have a wonderful problem-solving attitude to every challenge.
Jen Galama
Traffic Act
★★★★★
“I have known Mara and the Marameo Design team since 2023—over two years now—and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with them. They truly understand requirements, consistently deliver on time, and go the extra mile by suggesting what works best (and what doesn’t) in this space. Their expertise and guidance have been invaluable. If you are looking to collaborate and strengthen your online presence, this is the team you can trust!”
Dr. Shilpa Sadanand
The Resilience Collaborative
★★★★★
“Mara and the Marameo team work hard to find the right solution for a business website, including regular maintenance, updates and and great advice along the way. They are also responsive to feedback and requests in a very timely manner. Thanks!”
Kevin Brumpton
Return Fire Productions Pty Ltd
★★★★★
“Worked extensively with this agency for over 3 years when I was at The George Institute of Global Health. They were always prompt, professional and gave excellent support with our Drupal website. Recommended”
Kevin Truong
The George Institute
★★★★★
” Mara and her team were so accommodating and went above and beyond to try and get what we needed in a short period of time. The transition was incredibly seamless. I always found them so switched on and eager to assist. They know their stuff and their caring and warm approach really fits well in the not-for-profit space”
Katrina Batho
Liverty Housing
★★★★★
“The Marameo Design team are always responsive, efficient & explain things very well. I have a wordpress e-commerce website & they have done an awesome job helping me & understanding what I need. So easy to deal with. I highly recommend their services. Thank you so much for your help & patience. Give stars all the way!!!”
Melissa Cremasco
Cremamia
★★★★★
“Thank you again for your time today – I could have stayed on that call for hours! Your insights on potential opportunities and improving Sepsis Australia’s website were incredibly valuable.”
Harriet Benjamin
Sepsis Network Australia
★★★★★
“The team at Marameo delivered a sleek and user-friendly website for FoodSwitch that perfectly aligns with our vision and expectations. Working with Mara for creative design and the technical team for the build, Marameo were easy to work with. Communication was clear, collaboration was seamless. We are very happy with the end result.”
Steve Stamatellis
FoodSwitch
★★★★★
“Working with Marameo Design has been a wonderful experience. They are professional, supportive and always reliable. True collaboration.”
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