Our visual identity has evolved to remain a reflection of our services.
Since our foundation in 1972, Markey has grown from serving the insurance needs of a small group of clients within the Newcastle and Hunter Region to become one of the largest locally owned and managed insurance brokerages in Australia. Over this time the Markey brand has evolved to ensure it remains a reflection of our services and commitment to our customers.
There has never been a more exciting time to be a Markey customer, with our diverse service range and access to technology that simplifies communication between us. We wanted a visual expression to reflect where we are now and what we represent to each of our diverse range of customers.
The Markey Evolution
1969Markey's original incarnation
Incorporated in 1969, R. D. Harrison & Company Pty. Limited was established by Robert Harrison and Trevor Markey to support the insurance needs of Newcastle and the surrounding suburbs. With the exit of Robert in 1972, the company became T.A. Markey & Co Pty Ltd and traded from the family home in Kahibah.1972Moved premises
Continuing growth of the customer base saw T. A. Markey & Company Pty. Ltd acquire and move to it’s own premises at 91 Darby Street where it continued to provide the same level of dedication to customers under a visible Markey banner.1985Joined Austbrokers
The Austbrokers Network was established in 1985 to give individual General Insurance brokers the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a larger group. Markey joined the network and added NSW to our logo to give clarity to Markey's position in respect to other Austbrokers registered brokers. We also added a stylised "M" which was striped to avoid the problems that photocopiers and fax machines had in reproducing solid blocks of colour.1990Aligned visually with Austbrokers
Motivated by the prominence of Austbrokers as an Australia wide premier Broking hub, we changed our logo font and primary colour to red, aligning more closely with Austbrokers branding1992Adopted an ant as our icon
In order to give a memorable visual hook, we adopted the ant as our icon for a nationwide television advert. An ant seemed a great choice as ants symbolise organisation and energy, working for the community.Early 2000'sKeeping up with Austbrokers
When Austbrokers upgraded to a dual colour logo with a sans-serif font, network members including Markey were required to become uniform. We refreshed our logo, abstracting the "M" shape into an icon similar to Austbrokers abstracted AB symbol.Early 2000'sReturn of the ant
An updated visual identity required us to inform our customers of the change. Another 2 television ads were made and our ant grew up and could stand upright rather than walking on all legs. Rumour has it that the new ant was modelled on our founder Trevor Markey but never been truly clarified with the artist.Later 2000'sA little more shine
In keeping with advancements in graphic design technology, we added more depth and reflection to our logo - and gave our ant a 3d overhaul. You can watch our ants in action here.2017A better reflection
As part of their expansion globally, Austbrokers rebranding to AUB Group. We saw this as the pertinent time to realign our visual identity to encompass our core value of supporting you with simple and effective insurance and risk services. We've removed the "M" icon and simplified our logo, making a clean and memorable logomark that doesn't try to confuse the eye.Tailored to you
We've rolled out six bright colours that are used interchangeably - this choice is a symbol of our commitment to solutions tailored to you, not prescribed to one rigid service.Social signature
Keep an eye out for the compact version of the Markey logo, designed for use on our social media channels due to it's square dimensions and visibility at small resolutions.Ant for the digital age
With the changing methods of communication, our ant has had a makeover to be more appropriate for 2017 and beyond. The ant still represents our values at Markey. You can read about them here.
