Oxygen is used to treat acute respiratory illnesses and is essential for surgery, trauma, emergency and critical care, and the treatment of the elderly, pregnant women, and new-borns.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a long-neglected problem in low- and middle-income countries – the widespread, chronic shortage of medical oxygen that has contributed to many preventable deaths and put even greater strain on already fragile health systems.

As WHO declared an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency, the Global Oxygen Alliance was launched to promote a collective effort to make high-quality medical oxygen available, affordable, and equitably accessible. We were appointed to create the visual identity for this new global taskforce, and build a robust and versatile brand framework that would support the communication of its mission to audiences including Governments and donors.

Extensive research and workshops with alliance members helped clarify our objectives – to communicate innovation, collaboration and urgency through a visual identity that would be inspirational, accessible and have the authority to galvanise action.

Our approach consciously avoided being too friendly and playful, which would downplay the gravity of what’s at stake. While not overtly medical, the modern graphic identity and visual language brings depth and clarity to the alliance’s work, embodying their ethos, values and commitment.