MS Galleon is an international holding and management company with a proven track record of success for over 30 years. Their specialty is what’s beyond the horizon: pioneering in technology, inventing for the future, growing organically and sustainably. While the company embraces digitalization and disruptive technologies, they also have utmost respect for traditional business sectors.
MS Galleon boasts impressive figures when it comes to achievement: 7+ Billion EUR Net Asset Value (NAV), 30+ business entities in 6 segments across the globe, 15000+ employees in various locations globally and sales activities in 100+ countries worldwide.
When our design studio got approached by MS Galleon we knew that we were facing an enormous challenge: to create an umbrella brand that holds together a large number of firms in different business segments with various management styles and marketing approaches. We were tasked to create an identity that would be perceived positively by large corporations' C-suite management, as well as by disruptive-minded startup founders. The brand had to blend in and stand out at the same time. The goal was to be dynamic and display stability and trust equally.
The MS Galleon logo is built up from two components: the wordmark that states the name of the company, and the symbol, as an integrated, yet stand-alone graphical object. Relevant edges and corners are sharp and pointy in order to keep a crisp and clean design language and to maximize legibility and versatility accross all platforms, digital and print likewise.
The MS Galleon symbol is a slightly condensed circle with a horizontal line. This visually refers to a view through a sailor’s monocular with the sky and the sea divided by the horizon. Similarly, the line splits the circle in a 6:4 ratio. That leading is carried over to the rest of the characters of the wordmark - the crossbar of the ‘A’ and the arm of the ‘E’ - creating a subtle, timeless aesthetic.
The MS Galleon logo is composed with the company’s claim - Beyond the horizon - in mind. The horizon is appearing symbolically straight through the logo, building a cohesion between the name, the claim and the company’s history. The latter is expressed through the Vienese Secession vibe - a dedicated homage to the place where the firm is headquartered - that is created by the lowered arm of the ‘E’ and the crossbar of the ‘A’, as well as by the ‘M’ and ‘N’ letter’s edgy top and bottom corners. This imagined visual horizon starts with the ‘G’ and points to the ‘O’, which is the symbol too.
The MS Galleon colour palette reflects the company’s brand values and calls out its characteristics with expressing professionalism, trust and clarity. Proper use of colours help to create a distinctive yet recognisable brand, while encourages MS Galleon to be accepted as an authority of its field of expertise among its audience.
The MS Galleon wordmark, symbol or its marquee visual element, the horizontal line can all be used to create a coherent yet distinctive collection of patterns. These graphics could work as independent objects or build up a composition, they can be monochromatic or multi-coloured in the range of the official colour palette, as well as they can be either flat or 3D designs.
When reached the digital UI/UX stage in the design process, we were sure to approach it giving equal importance to desktop and mobile platforms, taking into account that MS Galleon's partners as global players are from different parts of the world, arriving to their websites potentially from all sorts of devices, therefore transition from one to the other has to be smooth and responsiveness as perfect as it gets.
Due to the amount of available information - both from MS Galleon itself, as from its portfolio companies - we focused on crisp layouts, clear hierarchy and maximum accessibility to bring understanding through structure. While micro-interactions and copywriting plays a big role, we also put emphasis on utilising the vast database of state-of-the-art images from various subsidiaries.
As an environmentally aware holding and management firm, MS Galleon dedicates an entire section on their website to various initiatives and social causes they support, as well as highlights its portfolio companies' responsibility efforts.
Styleguide for portfolio member companies to help understanding the brand.
Annual Report on business sectors, case studies, achievements and portfolio growth.
