Thesis Driven Publication
About the Project
Thesis Driven is one of the most influential venture and startup publications in the real estate tech sector. They approached Zendeeps to rebuild their digital presence, moving from a standard newsletter format to a full-fledged media publication platform.
The goal was to create a reading experience that felt premium, authoritative, and easy to navigate, while maintaining the speed and flexibility of a modern tech stack.
Problem Statement
The original site was limited by the constraints of a basic newsletter platform. Readers found it difficult to discover archived content, and the visual identity didn't match the high quality of the journalism. The lack of structure meant that valuable insights were getting lost in the feed.
User Pain Points
- Poor Discoverability: Users couldn't easily find past articles or specific topics.
- Lack of Visual Hierarchy: Long-form content felt dense and hard to scan.
- Generic Branding: The site looked like a template, failing to build a strong brand memory.
Our Solutions
We focused on comprehensive enhancements across key areas:
- Structured Content Architecture: We organized content into clear categories and series, making the archive accessible.
- Premium Reading Experience: We designed a custom typography system that improves readability for long-form essays.
- Webflow Implementation: We built a custom CMS in Webflow that allows the editorial team to publish complex layouts without code.
- Visual Identity Upgrade: We introduced a cleaner, more professional aesthetic that signals authority.
Tone & Voice System
The new tone is Authoritative, Insightful, and Direct. We stripped away unnecessary decorative elements to let the content speak for itself. The interface language is minimal, guiding the user without distraction.
Clear Improvements
Before
A linear feed of posts with no categorization. Users had to scroll endlessly to find older content.
After
A structured magazine layout with featured stories, topic clusters, and a powerful search function.
Reasoning Behind Decisions
We chose Webflow for its flexibility in CMS design. Since Thesis Driven publishes deep-dive analysis, we needed a system that could handle rich media, charts, and footnotes elegantly. The decision to use a serif font for body text was deliberate—to evoke the feeling of a classic newspaper while keeping the UI modern.