Hanmi Bank, a subsidiary of Hanmi Financial Corporation, is a Los Angeles-based community bank founded by Korean immigrants in 1982 as the first Korean American bank in the United States. The bank introduced its current corporate logo on June 29, 2015, at its original Olympic-Crenshaw branch location in Los Angeles, replacing a symbol that had been in use since the bank’s founding 33 years earlier. The new logo was designed to reflect the company’s Korean-American heritage while carrying wider appeal to more ethnically diverse customers throughout the U.S. [1]
Design and History
The original Hanmi Bank logo, used from the bank’s founding in 1982, was based on the first letter of Hanmi’s Korean consonant, the Hangul character “ㅎ.” The mark resembled a traditional Korean lucky pouch (bokjumoni), a shape meant to evoke a pot where customers could safely deposit money and build wealth with the bank. [2] Korean-language press coverage described the original symbol as a “bokjumoni-shaped Hangul ‘ㅎ’.” [3]
The redesign process began in late 2014 under the direction of Park Sun Wook, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, who had previously designed the BBCN Bank logo in 2011. [4] Park’s portfolio also lists Hanmi Bank among his brand and corporate identity projects. [5] The selection process was rigorous: roughly 30 candidates were presented in an initial review, but the board rejected all of them, most of which were variations on the original “ㅎ” mark. A second round produced seven finalists, from which the current design was chosen. [4]
The new logo is a red monogram of the English letter “H,” drawn from the first letter of “Hanmi.” The bank’s official news story describes the mark as depicting a bridge, embodying the bank’s role in connecting customers with growth and achievement, businesses with consumers, and resources with the community. [2] Korean-language coverage of the unveiling described the H as a bridge connecting two continents, with meanings of partnership, cooperation, and development. [6] The bank’s CEO at the time, C. G. Kum, said the logo “embodies our desire to connect, partner and grow with our customers.” [1]
Hanmi installed temporary signage with the new logo at all California branches at launch, with permanent signage rolled out nationwide beginning in July 2015. [1] The following year, in July 2016, the bank introduced the brand tagline “Bank on Your Dreams” as part of the same rebranding effort. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red color of the H monogram was chosen deliberately. According to Korean-language reporting on the redesign, the bank selected an orange-toned red because it was felt to best express energy and dynamism. [4] The bank’s official description of the logo emphasizes the bridge concept as its central meaning: “We are the bridge that each customer crosses in growth and achievement, a bridge that connects businesses with consumers, and a bridge that delivers resources to the community.” [2]
The shift from a Korean-character-based symbol to an English-letter monogram was intentional. The bank wanted to retain the Hanmi name, the first Korean-owned bank in the U.S., while maximizing the symbolic power of the name by using its English initial. The choice of an English letter also reflected the bank’s goal of reaching mainstream American customers beyond the Korean-American community. [4]
Typography and Design
The current Hanmi Bank logo consists of the red H monogram paired with the bank’s wordmark in gray sans-serif lettering. The bank’s official website and press materials do not identify a specific typeface or provide official color specifications. The USPTO trademark filing for the mark describes it as “a red circle with an open center, and a V-shaped cut on top,” with red claimed as a feature of the mark. [8]
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