Timothy Fitzgerald

Project:

Thiess90 Commemorative Logo, Full Illustration, Merchandise and history book

Brief:

How do you create a logo identity that captures a company’s rich pioneering history and exciting ambitions for a sustainable future? In late 2023, I asked myself this question when I was granted the opportunity to lead the design of Thiess’ 90th year logo identity.

The Thiess story is synonymous with nation building. It is quintessentially Australian and salt-of-the-earth. It started with the founding Thiess brothers, and from 1934 to the 1980s the Thiess name was shared around the dining table as they formed the bedrock of Australian infrastructure, mining and energy projects, and as one of the largest blue-collar employers at the time. I re-discovered Thiess' history for myself in a spare room located inside the office gym.

Over the coming weeks I sorted through records and photos from the past to ground my understanding prior to committing logo ideas to paper. I selected defining moments from the early years at the Blair-Athol coal mine in the 30s, photos of the Thiess brothers bringing Toyota and the Landcruiser to Australia in the 40s during the second world war clean-up, a visit from the Queen at the Snowy Mountain Hydro Electric Scheme in the 60s – the largest energy project of its kind in Australia at the time, and I was inspired by Sir Lesley Thiess himself – he would fly journalists from the Courier Mail over large-scale projects in his private plane to take imagery in the 80s. This man knew how to develop a brand. I added these memories to the collection of imagery I had from the present. To a company which has transformed into a leading mining services provider with ambitions for sustainable mining in metals and minerals, decarbonisation, and autonomous technology.

The theme for the 90th commemorative year was pioneering tomorrow. Aligning to Thiess’ purpose: Pioneering spirit for a brighter tomorrow, had me pondering the split between a pioneering legacy, and the promise of a brighter future. For the illustrated logo to work, it would need to reflect the essence of this spirit visually. It needed a sense of movement.

My design research looked to how other companies had approached this work and how to capture multiple elements in an identity. Some were simple, others were layered. I decided that the essence of ‘pioneering spirit’ should feel like forward movement and the logo should be layered. The story would be captured within segments of the 9 and 0. Thiess’ current identity should remain unchanged.

From sketches in my sketch book, to collaging photos, I created illustrations on my ipad, using a mix of my own illustrations and some stock vector imagery for the machines to save time on production as I worked to a tight deadline to deliver the concept to the senior leadership team. The design also needed to work as a standalone artwork.

The result was received exceptionally well and noted as a significant driver of positive culture within the organisation during the commemorative year. I developed an interim style guide, with the illustrated logo variation used across Thiess’ building signage, external and internal marketing collateral, merchandise for 14,000 site-based national and international staff, events, and a commemorative history book.

Employer:

Thiess

My Role:

Creative direction, Concept development, Graphic design, Project lead