HORIBA, Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of analytical and measurement instruments headquartered in Kyoto, with products spanning automotive emissions testing, medical diagnostics, semiconductor manufacturing, and scientific research.[1] The company was founded as HORIBA RADIO LABORATORY in 1945 and incorporated as HORIBA, Ltd. in 1953.[2]
Design and History
HORIBA’s primary corporate identity is a typographic wordmark, with the company name set in a stylized letterform. The wordmark appears in blue, a color claimed as a feature of the mark in trademark registrations.[3] A separate trademark registration for the HORIBA logo, filed in 2020, also lists the mark as color-based.[4]
In 2013, to mark the company’s 60th anniversary, HORIBA created a commemorative symbol mark based on the theme “TASUKI: Connecting Our Feelings.” The design featured a single sash (the Japanese “tasuki,” traditionally worn in relay races) colored with the corporate color and the image colors of HORIBA’s five business segments, carrying the message of passing on the company’s spirit from predecessors to the next generation and to the world.[5]
For the company’s 70th anniversary in 2023, HORIBA introduced another commemorative logo. The design blends the five business segments to express momentum toward the next stage, with its outline inspired by the infinity symbol (∞) to convey HORIBA’s infinite possibilities. The number “70” is angled upward to the right by 70 degrees, representing steady growth.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 70th anniversary logo’s infinity-inspired silhouette is explicitly documented as expressing the company’s infinite possibilities, while the upward-angled “70” conveys growth.[6] The 60th anniversary TASUKI mark used the corporate color combined with the image colors of the five business segments to symbolize continuity and connection across generations.[5]
Beyond these anniversary marks, HORIBA’s standard wordmark does not carry documented public symbolism beyond the blue color claimed in its trademark filings.[3]
Typography and Design
HORIBA’s wordmark uses a stylized all-caps letterform. No official documentation identifies the specific typeface used in the logo, and no designer or agency attribution for the current wordmark has been published by the company.
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