Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese energy company that introduced a new corporate brand identity in July 2020, following the business integration with Showa Shell Sekiyu that created the new integrated company in April 2019. The rebrand was timed to mark a milestone in that integration process. [1]
Design and History
The current Idemitsu corporate logo combines an Apollo icon with a lowercase “idemitsu” wordmark. The same Apollo icon is used for the company’s service station brand, written as “apollostation.” [1] The icon was developed to symbolize people, reflecting the company’s “People-Centered Management” philosophy, and was designed with elements of “newness,” “energy,” “coolness,” and “sophistication” in mind. [1]
The Apollo motif was not new to Idemitsu. The Apollo head emblem was originally created in 1950 by Japanese graphic designer Ōchi Hiroshi (1908–1974), who opened his eponymous design studio in 1949 after working at Dentsu. [2] The 2020 redesign retained the Apollo figure, described by the company’s Chinese subsidiary as “still using the sun god Apollo, which represents the ideal image of humanity,” but made it “more refined and energetic” to better align with the company’s people-centered development goals. [3]
Before the Apollo mark, Idemitsu’s corporate symbol was originally designed by founder Sazo Idemitsu, inspired by a conceptual drawing of the universe by Sengai Osho, a Zen priest of Japan’s Edo era. That earlier mark used three elements, a circle, triangle, and square, each representing a facet of the universe: the circle as the infinite basis of all beings, the triangle as the beginning of all forms, and the square as a triangle doubled. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Apollo icon draws on Greek and Roman mythology, where Apollo is the sun god. The company states that Apollo represents the ideal person, which matches the image the Idemitsu Group aspires to. [1] The company’s Mexican subsidiary elaborates that Apollo is said to have great aspirations and unlimited energy, with a gaze toward the future, and that the direction of Apollo’s eyes represents the company’s forward-looking attitude. [5]
The corporate colors of the new identity are traditional red (described as “emotional red”) and calligraphy ink (a cool grey), chosen to show pride in the company’s Japanese origin. [6] The red is associated with Japanese identity, while the grey evokes ink and expresses the character of Idemitsu. <a href="https://www.apollothai.com/news-amp-activity/%e0%b8%ad%e0%b8%b4%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%94%e0%b8%a1%e0%b8%b4%e0%b8%95%e0%b8%aa%e0%b8%b6-%e0%b8%9e%e0%b8%a5%e0%b8%b4%e0%b8%81%e0%b9%82%e0%b8%89%e0%b8%a1%e0%b9%81%e0%b8%9a%e0%b8%a3%e0%b8%99%e0%b8%94-3/
