TKMS

Our Berlin team developed TKMS – Your Maritime Powerhouse from start to finish – from the brand name to the strategy, from the brand design and tone of voice to the launch and related implementation initiatives and events.

The design idea

Excellence and security were key drivers for the design evolution. Hence we strived for maximum simplicity and focus in every detail. The centre layout idea „course line“ is inspired by graphic shipping routes on nautical charts, providing a comprehensible point of origin for our flexible design system. It directs attention and provides clear orientation – both online and offline. If you look closely, you will find the geometry of the „course line“ even within the wordmark TKMS. Really a design from a single mould.

Precise in every detail

The curves of products such as submarines provided formal inspiration for the brand typeface. The headline font uses similar curves rather than edges, the copytext font is more reduced, focusing on maximum legibility.

Highlighting maritime excellence

TKMS Signal is the bright accent in the uncompromisingly reduced color spectrum based on radiant white and metallic grey tones. All five brand colors are derived from the world of the products. Together, these colors create clear, powerful recognizability that significantly differentiates TKMS from the competition and boosts visibility, also in competition for talent.

Expanding Horizons

Illustrations and icons were developed to support the main idea of the brand design: maximum simplicity and reduction. The image style was defined with subtle desaturation to allow single color highlights to shine even more. The material surfaces, often steel or other metals with their grayish tones, skies, and seas were suitably desaturated.

Boarding the Maritime Powerhouse

The spatial design consistently translates the brand design into the third dimension. The course line draws the eye as a strip of light. Strikingly slanted ceiling elements echo the design principle. Targeted lighting accents emphasize the clear design language, minimalist color scheme, and technically precise materials.

Making an Impact

The new TKMS brand was first introduced to the entire management and subsequently to all employees, clients, and partners during a major launch event at the shipyard in Kiel. Following this, a campaign and several events were held to introduce the brand to the capital markets, and the successful stock market launch took place in autumn 2025. The response to the new brand has been very positive from all of the target groups. The employees, many of them long-time employees of thyssenkrupp, have adopted the new brand identity quickly and very enthusiastically. Clients and partners have continued their business, stepping up collaborations, orders, and assignments. So far, the entire development and implementation of the brand has been a huge success story: The Maritime Powerhouse is setting the course.

Awards

• iF Design Award 2026 (Development of a new brand)

• Transform Awards Europe 2026, Silver distinction (Best Strategic or Creative Development of a New Brand)