The Grid
The Grid is an independent design journal read by 80,000 people a month. Its charm — dense, opinionated, print-like — had become a liability: pages loaded slowly and long essays were unreadable on mobile.
The challenge
Keep the editorial soul while rebuilding everything underneath: typography, pacing, subscriptions and the archive of 1,200 articles.
The approach
I designed a reading-first layout with a strict measure, oversized headlines and a save-for-later system. Paywall moments were rewritten as invitations rather than interruptions, and the archive got faceted browsing by topic, author and era.
What the project included
- Editorial audit. Readership survey, top-100 article analysis and a new taxonomy for the archive.
- Reading experience. Type-led templates for essays, interviews and photo stories with dark mode.
- Subscriptions. Metered paywall, gifting and student tiers designed to feel generous.
- Migration. Redirect map for 1,200 articles and QA across devices and feed readers.
What changed
Readers now spend longer on essays, the newsletter grew on the back of the new save flow, and the editors finally enjoy publishing again. The Grid calls it the first redesign that felt like them.
Client: The Grid Publishing · Year: 2024 · Scope: Web Design
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