Building an optimistic brand for Fortum's latest clean future initiative
Valkea is Fortum’s newest initiative to support the next generation of mission-driven startups. Over the next three years, Valkea will invest over €50M into innovative solutions helping to create a cleaner future. One of Valkea’s first portfolio companies, Recharge, is now a leading Electric Vehicle charging network in the Nordics. Recently valued at €140M, Recharge is the ‘North Star’ guiding Valkea’s activity.
Proxy was appointed to develop a brand identity for the new concept at an early stage. While not all the details of what the organisation would offer had yet been ironed out, its mission was clear: to create a cleaner future. We wanted to build a brand based on what Valkea's portfolio companies would make possible - human life in 100 years time. We developed an optimistic, utopian brand that imagines a cleaner future; a path strikingly different from the present.
Proprietary landscape imagery was licensed from photographers working in Finland, where Valkea will begin its operations.
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Imagining alternative identities for a project that started with a completely clean slate↑
Customised lettering for a clean, airy logotype signalling a friendlier, more optimistic future.↑
Landscape photography by Jonne Huotari, Niilo Isotalo and other photographers was exclusively sourced for the project.←
A comprehensive identity system was rolled out across their website, presentations and space←
Photography by Quin Stevenson illustrating the realities of building startups