Keating Logo Explained by Founder Tim Keating

One of the most frequently asked questions about Keating Investments is: “What’s the story with 
the logo?” Here’s the answer: Founder Tim Keating and his wife Stephanie wanted a design that incorporated the following three emotive elements into the logo:

  • Meaningful
  • Celtic
  • Reputable

Meaningful

Ayn Rand, Tim’s favorite author, used a distinct formula of “last name 
+ industry” in creating the names of her characters’ businesses 
(e.g., Rearden Steel). Thus, the model for “Keating Investments.” By 
using his last name, Tim thought it would be easy for people to connect 
to the Firm and to distinguish it from generic names like “Global” or 
“First,” etc.

Celtic

Tim, being of Irish ancestry, wanted the overall logo design to reflect his Celtic roots. For graphic ideas, the design team consulted The Book of Kells (Dublin, Trinity College Library), an ornately illustrated manuscript produced by Celtic monks around AD 800. It is one of the more lavishly illustrated manuscripts to survive from the Middle Ages and has been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy. Upon careful review, it was discovered that no letter “K” existed in Gaelic. So the design team simply took some artistic liberties and created their own stylized version. The gold lattice is very similar to the calligraphy found throughout The Book of Kells.

Reputable

After working in London for nine years, Tim had admiration for the great London merchant banking firms that had stood the test of time. In 1997 when Tim was forming Keating Investments, he wanted to give prospective clients, investors and partners that same feeling of integrity that was associated with these firms. Thus, the need for an overall design that invoked the feeling of reputability. The animal heads at the end of the lattice are “gryphons.” The gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the gryphon was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.