Collins was charged with overhauling OpenWeb’s branding, finding its inspiration in the typography of the printed newspaper page of days gone by. One of the brand’s goals was to develop a more clear voice, but also stand out in “a noisy, eye-popping digital landscape” – as described by Collins design director Megan Bowker.
OpenWeb’s new identity is the latest example of a company to adopting a purposefully less ‘techy’ approach to branding – Mailchimp, which also worked with Collins in 2018, being another obvious example – signalling that branding’s reliance on the geometric sans serif might finally be tapering off.
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The studio has taken the W from OpenWeb’s name, and turned it into a circular symbol of letters which, when animated, resembles the shifting forms seen at the end of a kaleidoscope. It’s paired with a serif typeface – which does indeed feel very newspaper-y – and a digital technique that pairs libraries of open-source content with a new colour system.
OpenWeb’s mission is to build an ‘open, healthier web’ by providing publishers with a framework for productive – and moderated – commenting and conversation. Or, as Collins describe it, to “de-troll digital discourse”.
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The platform, which launched in 2012 and was previously known as Spot.IM, is used by the likes of Hearst, News Corp and Yahoo!
