Client
Onterris
Project type
Transformation
Unifying a fragmented identity and telling the story straight.
Montrose is a global environmental solutions business built from the expertise of more than ten specialist companies spanning testing, advisory, permitting, remediation, emergency response and sustainability. Headquartered in the US, with operations across United States, Canada and Australia, the organisation had grown rapidly through acquisition, bringing together deep technical expertise across a wide range of environmental disciplines.
But while the capability was world class, the structure had become increasingly complex. Multiple businesses, brands and service lines had created fragmentation in how the organisation presented itself to clients, employees and the wider market. The challenge was not simply to unify businesses under one identity, but to create a clearer and more cohesive story around what the organisation stood for, how its expertise connected and why it mattered.
A name grounded in action, responsibility and intent.
Mammoth partnered with Montrose to simplify that complexity into a unified strategic and creative platform. We developed a new naming architecture, clarified service propositions and created a brand system capable of bringing together diverse expertise under one coherent identity. That transformation centred around the creation of a new identity, Onterris - developed through extensive stakeholder engagement, strategic workshops and creative exploration.
The name combines two simple ideas. "On" signals momentum, action and progress, while "Terris", derived from Earth, grounds the organisation in environmental responsibility and scientific rigour. Together, they create a name that feels practical, confident and purposeful - one that gave the organisation a clearer way to speak about itself, creating alignment across teams, regions and disciplines.
A shared purpose built around planet and progress.
With the new identity established, we developed a purpose platform capable of aligning the organisation around a common ambition. For Planet & Progress became the unifying idea - a simple but powerful articulation of the balance at the heart of the organisation's work, enabling industrial and societal advancement while protecting the ecosystems that sustain it.
Rather than positioning environmental responsibility and progress as opposing forces, the platform reframed them as inseparable priorities. That thinking became central to how Onterris communicated its role in the world, creating a shared language across every team, role and region and a creative and strategic foundation for the wider brand system.
A visual identity shaped by perspective
That same thinking informed the visual identity. Mammoth built the system around a single idea: seeing Earth from a broader perspective. Inspired by the iconic Pale Blue Dot view of our planet from space, the identity is rooted in the idea that every action is part of a larger, interconnected system. This perspective became the foundation of the brand, encouraging a mindset that looks beyond individual challenges to the bigger picture. The Onterris symbol was designed as a simple yet powerful abstraction of Earth viewed from a distance, representing planetary thinking, scientific precision and interconnected systems. From there, every element of the identity was developed to reinforce that perspective.
The pale blue core colour reflects the subtle tones of Earth seen from afar, while typography is confident, refined and highly legible. Layouts use space intentionally to create clarity and focus, and motion principles draw on orbital movement, horizon reveals and natural rotation to create a sense of continuity and progress. The result is a brand system where every decision connects back to a single idea. The identity expresses strategy consistently through naming, language, motion and form, creating a brand that reflects the scale of the challenge, the responsibility of the work and the optimism of progress.
