Studio Impact
Transforming a grant-giving charity into a foundation with real impact and lasting credibility.
To see the full branding project, click here
Author Abraham L. Apr 30, 2026
What does it mean to Save someone's sight?
It started, like everything did in 2021, on a Zoom call.
We’d just finished a small project for the London Scottish House when Alistair Wood asked if we’d be interested in helping a charity he supported, the Ridley Eye Foundation (REF). At first it felt like a straightforward conversation. It quickly became something much more meaningful.
The foundation was created by Sir Harold Ridley, the ophthalmologist who invented the intraocular lens a breakthrough that turned cataract blindness from a permanent condition into a treatable one, an actual cure for blindness. Hundreds of millions of people owe their sight to his work. What impressed us most was that he chose not to patent the invention. He worked with Rayner to make it widely available, prioritizing impact over ownership.
He chose not to patent his discovery, prioritizing impact over ownership.
By the time we got involved, REF was a foundation with a remarkable legacy but had become relatively quiet. Nicholas Ridley, Harold’s son, wanted to change that, to move from funding research at a distance to delivering real, hands-on results where they were needed most and that took us to Nepal.
Cataract surgery there can restore sight for as little as ten dollars. That number stayed with us. Once we kept coming back to it, the decision felt simple: they became our partner, not a client.
We rebranded the foundation with a clean, timeless aesthetic rooted in clarity and purpose. But the bigger shift was strategic. Rather than relying on traditional awareness campaigns, we focused on leveraging the Ridley name to build meaningful relationships with ophthalmologists, institutions, and manufacturers who already cared about the cause.
To prove the model, Nicholas self-funded the first eye camps. We joined him in Nepal and saw the work firsthand. People were led into the clinics because they couldn’t see. Days later, they walked out on their own. The experience gave us real stories and visuals that grounded everything we created afterward… the website, materials, and campaigns all built on REF’s work, not stock.
That trip also sparked our “Ethical Spending” approach to supporting REF. Instead of asking brands and clients to donate separately, we invite them to join the camps using budgets they already allocate for marketing and content. We produce high-quality campaign assets in an incredibly powerful setting, while the fees directly impact the foundation’s reach, freeing up more funds to deliver services.
Over six years, more than thirty brands including Panasonic, Bellroy, and Three Peaks GBR have taken part. The results speak for themselves: tens of thousands of patients seen and thousands of sight-restoring surgeries completed. And ODL, we have been able to donate over $250,000 in services and support, all pro-bono.
We have been able to donate over $250,000 in services and support.
Last year we marked seventy-five years since Ridley’s breakthrough with a sold-out event at the Tower of London. It not only celebrated the legacy but secured funding through 2027, allowing us to support the first remote clinic and permanent Doctor in the Jumla Region.
This work has become one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. It proves that commercial creativity can deliver more than good design or effective campaigns, it can create genuine and lasting impact.
If you’re interested in how we approach projects like this, or how our expandable creative model might work for you, feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to talk.
