Harvard Law School EELP

Creating relevance for an influential voice

Developing a neutral identity

Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program provides unbiased and pragmatic analysis of American environmental and energy issues. Often the go-to advisors for US policy makers in these sectors, the program lacked brand recognition separate of Harvard Law School.

Combo’s assignment was to create a visual identity and online presence for the program that would reflect its influential voice in the environmental policy world, and help it to disseminate complex information simply and elegantly through multiple communication channels.

Rather than work within the confines of the traditionalist Harvard brand, the maverick program was keen for us to develop logo concepts that emphasized its informed and balanced approach to policy advising—concepts that would set the tone for the brand-building to come.

It was clear to the design team that the new logo required a fresh and modern sensibility, yet still be abstract in nature.

Achieving a fine balance

After exploring a variety of creative directions, Combo landed on a solution that embraced as key elements the program’s multiple policy expertise and neutral approach to advising.

Each of the triangular shapes of the new logo is based on a perfectly balanced square that together provide a joint, forward-moving synergy. A subtle reference to the letter “H” and the red accent ties the logo to the core Harvard identity.

The program’s online presence revolves around in-depth content and quick access to crucial information. We established a clear information hierarchy that was reflected in the site’s no-nonsense yet approachable typography. As the site is updated frequently with the latest developments in environmental and energy law policy, we set a range of quick entry points to the most requested tools and media, based on the site’s analytics.

The site’s most visited page, the Regulatory Rollback Tracker, lists the environmental regulatory rollbacks of the Trump administration, with legal analysis to briefs by the program’s policy experts. Within two months of the new site’s launch, the tracker, now featured on the home page, had received a 20% increase in subscriptions. 

The Environmental & Energy Law Program’s team has embraced the new identity materials and website, which they feel not only captures the essence of their brand but makes complex information easily accessible to a variety of stakeholders–from policymakers and scholarly audiences to the media and general public.

"We're loving our new website and templates–they're so much easier to use and nicer to look at than our old stuff. The increased functionality on the trackers and media pages is such a timesaver. And the InDesign template is a huge improvement–way easier to use than our old template."

Robin Just, Director of Outreach and Communications for the Environmental & Energy Law Program

The Combo combo:

Project lead: Combo Creative
Design: Today Studio
Coding: 
Glance Digital

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