Kawasaki Logo PNG
The Kawasaki logo reflects national identity, respect for the memory of the founder, constant expansion, and product orientation. The emblem reflects the brand’s credibility, indicating the product’s quality.
Kawasaki: Brand overview
| Founded: | 15 October 1896 |
| Founder: | Shōzō Kawasaki |
| Headquarters: |
Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Website: | global.kawasaki.com |
Meaning and History
The company’s career started with aircraft and shipbuilding and the repair of railway transport. But in the post-war years, Japan, as the losing side, was obliged not to release aircraft, imposing a moratorium on this direction. All equipment was dismantled and taken out of the country, and thousands of people lost their jobs.
To save the day, Kawasaki decided to retrain. In the late 1950s, she bought the bankrupt motorcycle manufacturer Meguro Manufacturing and moved on to another technical direction. Thus began the formation of a motorcycle brand with an individual mark, which quickly became recognizable worldwide. Over the years, it has changed only once.
What is Kawasaki?
Kawasaki is a motorcycle brand based in Tokyo, Japan, and is a division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It was founded in 1896 and initially produced Meguro motorcycles, but later transitioned to its own two-wheeled personal vehicles after acquiring its own engine technologies. In 1974, the company established an overseas assembly plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1961 – 1967
The debut emblem of the transport company contains a sports track lined with several wide stripes. This is a direct indication of the sporting direction of work, since, in the early years, the company focused on motorcycles, making motorcycles the standard of quality and ergonomics.
In the center of the racing tracks, turned in the form of a bend, there is a signal flag with which they start the competition. The main panel is white, while the edges and shaft are yellow. Kawasaki’s name is on a black lined box.
1967 – 2021
After a large-scale expansion of the technical base and assortment, the manufacturer decided to move away from the sports theme reflected in the logo and make it universal. As a result of a major rebranding, the Japanese trademark has a new symbolism. Moreover, a complete package was presented – from corporate style to the official label. The version consists of text. It uses the corporate name in a strict style. “K” is not only the initial letter in the word – it is also a kind of graphic sign with a large straight leg and a zigzag element.
The name in the logo is written in uppercase. The letters do not have serifs – they look like perfectly even characters, not protruding one iota beyond the indicated border. The only exceptions are “k” and “i,” the height of which coincides with the word’s first letter. The logo’s color palette includes black, white, scarlet (formerly), and bright red (now).
2021 – today
The new Kawasaki logo isn’t all that new. The brand name, consisting of a vertical strip and two curly lines, has already been seen on the old emblem, which was introduced in 1961. It appeared much earlier – even before the Japanese company began to produce motorcycles and tractors. This symbol, known as the River Mark, is believed to have first been used in 1870. It adorned the flags of ships built at the Kawasaki Tsukiji shipyard – the one that later became the founder of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
River Mark was remembered in 2014 when its image appeared on the top hood of production motorcycles. And now it’s back for good, helped by the spin-off of the motorcycle business into a separate company called Kawasaki Motors Limited. This happened in 2021, and at the same time, a logo was created that reflects two aspects at once: the preservation of historical heritage and the desire for the future.
Since the transport manufacturer comes from Japan, its brand name is a stylized hieroglyph. It means the river because the company used to be engaged in shipbuilding. In the current realities, its meaning has changed: now, the symmetrical emblem, consisting of a vertical stripe and two mirrored figures, represents the rapid development of Kawasaki and the desire to move forward and use environmentally friendly green technologies. The black corporate identity symbol is combined with the brand name, which is located at the bottom and is painted in the same black color.
Font and Colors
When the motorcycle company Kawasaki Motors Limited appeared as part of the corporation, it was decided to celebrate its birthday with a new logo. Despite this, the font has not changed at all. The wordmark looks exactly like the 1961 version. The bold letters are very closely spaced, but the inscription is legible due to their streamlined, slightly rounded shape.
The used typeface has several analogs that differ only in minor details: Foundation Sans Black by FontSite Inc., Pragmatica Black by ParaType, Sequel Sans Head Black by OGJ Type Design, and Crique Grotesk Black by Stawix. As for the color, the Kawasaki emblem is monotonous: both the abstract symbol and the brand name are painted in the same shade of black.
Kawasaki color codes
| Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 0 0 0 | |
| CMYK: | 0 0 0 100 | |
| Pantone: | PMS Process Black C |
