Harvard Global Support Services Redesign

It’s a beautiful, modern site that reflects our visual identity in new and clever ways, the messaging is on point, and it’s a vastly improved user experience. It was a long time coming, and I’m so thrilled that it’s finally live for everyone to see and benefit from.
Lizz Marr, Senior Communications Officer, Harvard Global Support Services

Standing apart from the crowd

The site we had in mind was anything but what we’ve seen time and time again. Students, staff, faculty, and researchers worldwide needed this site to be exceptionally user-friendly, informative, and supportive. As the pandemic grew around us, the urgency around providing clear visuals and information developed.

Take my virtual hand; I’ve got you. 

We removed a potentially tedious experience and exchanged it for a beautiful, frictionless site. We provided a slew of specific features for affiliates battling the unknown, with their international research and activities potentially at risk. Affiliates both stateside and abroad needed clarity about what was happening.

We incorporated additional features, like risk ratings, emergency support features, and up-to-date informational blogs. We wanted to make the entire process easy and include a helpful pathfinder. We created a really unique, interactive experience by intuitively guiding the user.

Designing like we’re the target audience

We built a fully responsive site using an SEO migration strategy that included integrating Google Analytics. By doing so, this experience will help better prepare affiliates for their international endeavors and improve the efficiency of the work that GSS does. 

Results 

Our Harvard Global Support Service redesign is a crowd favorite and picked up seven prominent awards in 2021.This includes 4 Davey Awards recognizing excellence in Best Homepage, Best Visual Appeal, Best Use of Navigation, and Best User Experience. The site was further recognized as the W3 Award's Best in Show and a Muse Gold Winner plus two C2A Awards.