Circle gets a square
Roivant tapped Applied arts to redefine their brand as they evolved from a biotech startup into a pioneering healthcare innovator. Through in-depth research, we clarified their complex organizational structure and developed a brand architecture that positioned Roivant as a visionary parent company. Inspired by their defiance of the status quo, we created a visual identity rooted in geometric forms—reflecting their unconventional approach to drug development. The comprehensive brand system—including guidelines, assets, and an anthem video—launched with a new website, empowering Roivant to communicate their ambition and attract investors, partners, and top talent.
Founded in 2014, Roivant Sciences set out to upend the traditional pharmaceutical model by applying technology to drug development. Their approach—launching nimble subsidiaries to develop and commercialize medicines—helped drive the company to a nearly $6 billion market cap by 2022. But as the business scaled, the brand had fallen behind.
Roivant needed a brand that reflected their identity as not just a biotech company but a new kind of healthcare innovator. Their complex organizational structure was often misunderstood, creating confusion among investors, partners, and talent. With a website relaunch on the horizon, Roivant saw an opportunity to go beyond a visual refresh and build a brand that could communicate both the scale of their ambition and clarity of their vision.
Our work began with research and discovery. We interviewed Roivant’s senior leadership, conducted competitor mapping and benchmarking, and met with customers. We explored the different roles the brand played, how the current architecture informed the development of products, programs, and technologies, and how those relationships shaped the customer and employee experience. These insights informed a new brand architecture that clarified the role of the masterbrand and its subsidiaries. We visualized this through an infographic designed to help internal and external audiences, including investors, understand the structure. Upon seeing the solution, our client remarked, "This is by far the best consulting output I’ve ever seen."
With alignment on the brand architecture, we moved into the next phase: creating a new, more meaningful brand identity for Roivant. What were the distinct qualities the identity could draw from?
Roivant challenges the traditional pharma model. They spot opportunities others miss, address inefficiencies, take unconventional bets on talent, pursue multiple pathways and platform opportunities at once, and refuse to follow the crowd. This defiance of the status quo is a core part of their culture. One metaphor came up repeatedly in conversations with stakeholders: a square peg in a round hole—and it ultimately became the creative spark for the visual identity system.
The final identity solution is a cohesive family of brand assets built from a simple set of right angles and radius'd corners. These form the foundation of a bespoke typographic identity, alternating between sharp angles and rounded terminals. Geometric circles and squares serve as standalone graphic elements and act as containers for imagery and pattern. The color palette reflects the scientific, dynamic nature of Roivant, while expressive color is reserved for the photo library, where abstract, scientific imagery conveys the company’s various therapeutic target areas. To compliment this, we commissioned photographer Walter Smith to document the employee experience at Roivant through candid images and portraiture.
Finally, to ensure consistent execution, we delivered comprehensive brand guidelines and a toolkit of assets spanning core identity elements, social applications, and environmental touchpoints. Roivant also asked us to help launch the brand, so we created an anthem video that showcased the brand system in action and helped employees understand the story behind their new identity.
The new brand positions Roivant for the future—clarifying their unique structure, elevating their reputation, and laying the foundation for continued growth. With the new brand in place, Roivant successfully relaunched its website, offering a compelling gateway for investors, partners, and top talent to engage with the company’s mission of developing transformative medicines and technologies. See more at www.roivant.com.
photos/video: Walter Smith
