Third & GroveThird & Grove
Drupal

Harvard Global Support Services

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International higher education never looked so compelling

14k registered trips / 166 countries visited / 8 global offices

When Harvard Global Support Services needed to reimagine how to digitally support hundreds of international activities and 14,000 international trips a year for students, staff, faculty, and researchers alike, they turned to Third and Grove. They wanted a redesigned, digital experience that helped them stand out from the crowd but could still expertly communicate the organization and services offered.

25%

Increase in contact form submissions

28%

Increase in organic search traffic

77%

Increase in avg page load speed

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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.

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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. 

Our Harvard Global Support Service redesign is a crowd favorite and has picked up numerous prominent awards.

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.

—Liz Marr, Senior Communications Officer, Harvard Global Support Services