Designate designs brand strategy and visual identity for newly formed lithium company

Australian Corporate brand and communications agency, Designate, developed the name, brand strategy and visual identity of Allkem, one of the world’s largest lithium companies.

Allkem was formed in 2021 from the merger of Galaxy Resources and Orocobre Limited, and now aims to produce and develop sustainable lithium products across the globe.

The project included a comprehensive new corporate website and dedicated digital brand hub and guidelines to launch the new entity. Designate’s process began with an in-depth brand audit of each company and their global competitors, paired with collaborative brand workshops to gather insight into the lithium market.

After gaining this initial information, Designate came up with the new name. Allkem aims to position the brand as a chemical pioneer and foster connections with its stakeholders to help the world build a more sustainable future. The idea of collaboration is also summarised in the tagline ‘Together we go further.’

"Allkem isn’t just a lithium company doing great things, but a community coming together with an endeavour to create a brighter future. This concept drove the visual identity and led us to create a symbol that represents key aspects of the business, working harmoniously with the intention that 'Together we go further’,” says Maddie Allington, designer at Designate.

The idea of cooperation is further enhanced in the visual identity system, specifically in the new logo, designed to be flexible in application to enable the brand to communicate with different audiences across multiple channels. The brand symbol was designed to be used as a lens to highlight and amplify content, or as a holding device to combine imagery of Allkem’s operations and communities.

"The logo concept was inspired by the Venn diagram. It represents an equilibrium between people, purpose and planet, which enable Allkem to create a brighter future,” says Gareth Procter, creative Director at Designate.

The bold colour choice aims to differentiate Allkem from its competitors, establish recognition in the market and create impact for the new brand. The vivid purple palette with a contrasting coral pink signals that the brand is a non-traditional operator, which seeks to challenge the status quo with an innovative mindset and a progressive outlook.

Similarly, the typography, Halyard, was also chosen because of its distinctiveness and unique characteristics. The font has a broad functional range of uses, allowing it to work well at both large and small sizes, each one amplifying its functional capability and aesthetic appeal.