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Harvard Law Review

by 10up

Award Level: Nominee
Category Name: Law

It’s critical for us to have a hosting partner that we can work in lockstep with throughout the entire project.” 

—Jason Clarke, Director of Account Strategy at 10up

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Using WP Engine, 10Up is focused on making the Internet a better place and taking a customer-centric focus by being proactive, not reactive, when it comes to performance. Its design of the Harvard Law Review, a Webby Nominee powered by WP Engine, showed that focus in clear view.

The challenge

Previously, Harvard Law Review held two separate sites, one for the Review’s monthly content and the other for the blog. These sites live on two different hosting platforms, which meant users had to travel between sites for further content, and editors must learn how to navigate each CMS. The site also lacked a clear hierarchy or categorization of content, and used color and design variations without apparent intention or meaning. As a text-only publication – the Review has never published an image – ambiguous design decisions hindered readers’ ability to locate and understand the Review’s influential content.

The solution

10up engineers curated the editorial experience for Harvard Law Review within the WordPress Block Editor — with immaculate attention to detail to ensure a clean and flexible workflow. Pulling from the historic print publication design, all articles from the print Review have a maroon red category typeface, blog posts a blue, and forums a deep purple. This subtle and classic color difference effectively distinguishes the content types, without distracting from the content. To add texture to the site while keeping a classic look, 10up designers utilized small details influenced by Harvard’s historic grounds, such as small dots at the bottom of section cards, old-fashioned arrows and diamond accents, and color changes when users hover over links.

The results

Before the Harvard Law Review team took over the new site, 10up conducted multiple demo and training sessions with the student team, demonstrating a step-by-step editorial publishing process and providing detailed documentation for the team to reference. The subsequent issue of Harvard Law Review was published without a hitch, sharing the timeless, user-friendly, and stunning HarvardLawReview.org with readers worldwide.

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