Case Study

OpenWeb

Clarifying a value creation narrative.

Program
Industry
Technology
Stage
Growth

For decades, online discourse has devolved into chaos. The comments section became a symbol of the internet at its worst: polarized, toxic, and unmoderated. Publishers paid the pri...

For decades, online discourse has devolved into chaos. The comments section became a symbol of the internet at its worst: polarized, toxic, and unmoderated. Publishers paid the price: shrinking engagement, rising moderation costs, and fading credibility.

Spot.IM saw a different future. They believed technology could make online conversations more civil and publishers more powerful. But despite their noble mission and growing platform, they lacked the narrative and identity to match their ambition.

We recognized that Spot.IM wasn’t just a comments tool. It was rebuilding the infrastructure of public discourse online, where truth and trust could flourish. But to earn that role, it needed to evolve from a tool to a force. First, we renamed the company to reflect its civic ideals: OpenWeb. Then, we reframed its mission—not as content moderation, but conversation transformation. This required a total overhaul of its strategy, identity, and design system.

The new identity reestablished OpenWeb as a leader of a new kind of civic infrastructure. We drew inspiration from early 20th-century newspapers—bold typography and strong voices—to signal trust to publishers while evoking a modern digital forum. The logo and visual system embody the exchange of differing perspectives, designed to feel rigorous yet inviting. The voice and story made the company’s mission legible: not just to “de-troll” the web, but to revive the possibility of civil online life.

OpenWeb’s new strategy and brand helped reposition the company from a comment widget to a conversation platform, earning partnerships with leading publishers, attracting mission-aligned talent, and unlocking broader cultural relevance. Today, OpenWeb powers over 100 million monthly users, drives higher time-on-site and engagement for its partners, and is shaping the future of online dialogue—one constructive exchange at a time.

COLLINS
Dashiell AlisonIan AronsonMegan BowkerMadeleine CarrucanTom EliaTomas MarkeviciusEric ParkBarney StepneyNiamh WalshTom Wilder
OpenWeb
Roee GoldbergTomer InbarNadav Shoval

Augments

Augments are add-on components or properties that enhance a design system’s performance. They introduce new capabilities, expand functionality and improve how the system works across contexts.

Augments

Augments are add-on components or properties that enhance a design system’s performance. They introduce new capabilities, expand functionality and improve how the system works across contexts.

3P IP Adapter: Distinctive Crop

Ensures third-party content aligns with the brand without visual conflict, maintaining clarity, harmony and brand integrity.

Lineage Signals

A visual system rooted in publishing’s legacy, expressed through a heritage-informed color palette and typeface. Each choice carries forward the craft, credibility and authority of print—reinterpreted for a digital-first world—to connect OpenWeb’s future to the lineage of trusted publishing.

Sticky Dissonance

A performance property that creates calculated tension to disrupt expectations and hook the imagination. This strategic friction drives memorability and salience, turning cognitive resistance into enduring resonance and magnetic appeal.

Impact

Clarified Corporate Narrative

Clarified OpenWeb’s corporate narrative, aligning teams, attracting investors and elevating its position from product vendor to civic infrastructure.

1.5B

Elevated Valuation

Post rebrand, OpenWeb raised $170 million achieving a valuation of $1.5 billion.

Increase in Qualified Inbound Interest

A more strategic narrative attracted inbound attention from values-aligned media companies, brand partners and investor interest.

2x

Brand Recall

The premium positioning put OpenWeb at the center of the public conversation about platform accountability and media trust.

Greater Publisher Adoption

OpenWeb expanded its footprint across top-tier publishers following the rebrand—helped by clearer positioning and stronger mission resonance.

Press

It's Nice That

Collins looks to eliminate online trolls with a new identity for OpenWeb