The Review of Economic Studies: From Default WordPress Theme to World-Class Academic Journal

Project Type: Web Design and Brand Identity
Sector: Academic Publishing / Economics

The Client

As one of the world’s most prestigious peer-reviewed journals in economics, The Review of Economic Studies has built a decades-long reputation for publishing foundational theoretical and empirical research, but that reputation existed almost entirely within academia, with little presence beyond it.

Project Overview:

The Rebrand That Gave One of the World’s Top Economics Journals a Presence to Match Its Reputation

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The Challenge

Define a brand from scratch and redesign a visually dated, mobile-unfriendly journal into something worthy of its standing in global academia.

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The Solution

A brand strategy workshop, full visual identity, custom illustration, and a ground-up website redesign built around readability and engagement.

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The Milestone

Transforming a default WordPress theme into a distinctive, fully branded academic platform optimised for every device.

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The Impact

A redesigned journal that reflects its status as one of the top five economics publications in the world.

What Was at Stake?

A Top-Five Economics Journal With No Brand and a Website That Let It Down

The Problem

The Review of Economic Studies had the academic reputation but none of the visual identity to support it.

The Risk

A site that is difficult to read, impossible to navigate on mobile, and visually indistinct from any other WordPress installation undermines credibility before a single paper is read.

The Stakes

Without a defined brand and a website built around its readers’ needs, the journal risked falling behind its peers in visibility, engagement, and perception.

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The Review of Economic Studies needed a brand rooted in its history and a website built for the way modern readers actually engage with academic content.

What KD Delivered

A Complete Brand Identity and Redesigned Academic Platform

  1. Brand Strategy and Identity
  • Ran a brand strategy workshop to map the journal’s history, audience, industry position, and future goals
  • Drew inspiration from the journal’s original 1933 cover to create a logo that is modern yet timeless
  • Built brand guidelines centred on typography, with careful font selection to aid readability across a text-heavy environment
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  1. Web Design and Development
  • Redesigned the site from the ground up, replacing the default WordPress theme with a distinctive, branded experience
  • Introduced more white space, larger font sizes, and a cleaner layout to improve readability throughout
Blurred indoor shopping mall corridor with storefronts, warm ceiling lights, and people walking in the distance.
  1. Custom Illustration
  • Created bespoke illustrations to bring the brand strategy to life visually
  • Added depth and character to a necessarily text-heavy publication without compromising clarity
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Homepage

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Homepage

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The Results

A Journal That Now Looks as Authoritative as It Is

Stronger Visual Identity

  • A timeless logo drawn from the journal’s own history, brought into the context of modern academia
  • Brand guidelines that give every page a consistent, considered look and feel
  • Custom illustration that sets the journal apart from every other academic publication in its field

Improved Readability and Engagement

  • Reorganised content structure makes it faster for readers to find what they need
  • Larger type, more white space, and clear subheadings reduce friction throughout
  • Interactive elements encourage deeper engagement with the material

Full Mobile Accessibility

  • Readers can now access and navigate the journal from any device without compromise
  • Mobile optimisation reflects the way academic audiences actually consume content today
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Why It Worked

Respecting the History. Building for the Future.
A brand rooted in where the journal came from, designed for where it is going.

1 / 5 Brand strategy grounded in the journal’s own history and values

2 / 5 Typography chosen specifically for a text-heavy academic context

3 / 5 Custom illustration that adds visual identity without distracting from content

4 / 5 Content restructured around how readers actually navigate and absorb information

5 / 5 A final result that reflects the journal’s standing as one of the best in the world