Improving the Online Commenting Experience—Updated 2020
Industry
Media
Client
Hivewise, General Assembly Capstone
Service
UX Design
Date
2017
I designed a responsive website, brand identity, and prototype for Hivewise, a platform fostering meaningful, community-driven discussions. The solution includes a points-based accountability system and a vibrant brand identity celebrating diversity of thought.
Online commenting is a mess. If you've ever read the comments on Youtube or after reading any online article, you know this from experience. Mark Klein, founder of Hivewise and the Deliberatorium, spent most of his research career at MIT investigating why commenting culture is so bad and how technology could encourage more meaningful discussion.
Our design team was given three weeks to create a brand identity, website and prototype for Hivewise.
User & Product Research
After doing a few rounds of user surveys, our team categorized the responses into two common problems: 1) no trust in other commenters and 2) no sense of community. While users wanted access to expert opinion, fact checking and real time quality control, they also wanted to feel connected with other commenters and to be able to have smaller and more protected conversations.
We took inventory of other commenting tools to better understand how they were solving these problems.
Design Concept
Additionally, in order to maintain a healthy commenting environment, we also thought about including a point system for each user account. As a commenter, you are required to create an account, that account then collects points for highly liked comments and topics. It also holds commenters accountable for toxic comments. If a commenter is reported for harassment, for example, points are then deducted. A low scoring user is subject to receiving a warning and ultimately are banned from commenting all together. View Prototype.
Hivewise Brand Identity
Hivewise is about elevating voices through an online platform that celebrates diversity of thought rather than like-mindedness. We wanted this quality to stand out. We decided to use a bright yellow to exemplify a vibrant culture which the platform intends to cultivate and protect.
When thinking about the logo, repurposing the typical hive cell seemed like the right approach. We liked the optical illusion of a hexagon that also looked like a cube. It illustrates that differences are often just a matter of perspective.
Final Product
Check out the prototype and walk through Hivewise's mobile commenting experience. Read through comments and join a discussion.
