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How I designed The Shared Homeland Paradigm website that encourages curiosity about Palestine-Israel
People don’t buy products from companies they don’t trust. That might sound obvious, but it’s remarkable how many technical websites expect visitors to decode specifications, compare unfamiliar part numbers, and somehow arrive at the right decision on their own.
At its best, editorial design can shape the way people experience ideas. That’s what interested me most about designing the website for The Shared Homeland Paradigm.
Editorial design shapes understanding
The Shared Homeland Paradigm is an international research initiative exploring new ways of thinking about Palestine-Israel. Bringing together academics, policy specialists and researchers, the project publishes articles, background and research papers, and a growing alternative lexicon that encourages readers to explore different perspectives.
From our earliest conversations, it was clear the website needed to do more than publish research. My job was to create an experience that encourages people to engage with the complex subject-matter.
That immediately appealed to me because I’ve always been fascinated by editorial design and how hierarchy, layout, and typography invite people to continue reading. I wanted those same principles for The Shared Homeland Paradigm.
If you’d like to see how those ideas became the finished website, take a look at my Shared Homeland Paradigm portfolio page, where I explain the project from concept to implementation.
Designing an editorial experience
I wanted the website to reward curiosity from the moment someone arrived. Readers come with different levels of understanding and reasons for exploring the Shared Homeland Paradigm research.
My design needed to welcome everyone which drew me to editorial design principles of a clear visual hierarchy, carefully considered layouts and typography.
As the visual identity evolved, I explored several creative directions. One early concept used birds native to the region as symbols of movement across borders.
It was an enjoyable idea to develop, but historical maps and topographical forms ultimately better expressed the project’s goals.
These maps introduced themes of connection to a place and a shared geography that became the foundation of the website’s visual language.
What I learned
Editorial design has a unique ability to shape the way people experience information. Typography encourages reading, layouts reward exploration, and a distinctive visual language helps content become memorable.
Those principles aren’t confined to books or magazines, and are just as valuable online where a website’s purpose is to help people discover, engage with, and understand its content.
See the finished project
Every design decision on The Shared Homeland Paradigm website grew from the belief that editorial design can shape the way people experience ideas.
Take a look at the finished project to see how those principles informed everything from the typography and page layouts to the illustrations and visual identity.
Take a look at the finished Shared Homeland Paradigm website and explore my portfolio case study to see how those ideas came together.
Related reading
- My Shared Homeland Paradigm portfolio page
- How I designed an information-rich website for The Shared Homeland Paradigm
- Design a new website or product
November 1, 2025 • Andy Clarke • design