Iwatani Sangyo, now known as Iwatani Corporation, is a Japanese energy and industrial gas company founded in 1930 by Naoji Iwatani in Osaka. The company’s current corporate logo was adopted in 1987, according to the company’s official history timeline.[1]
Design and History
The Iwatani logo was adopted in 1987, as documented on the company’s official history page.[1] The same year also marked the opening of the Shiga Technical Center and the beginning of the company’s sponsorship of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.[2]
Prior to the 1987 adoption, the company used a different mark. A trademark registration filed in 1981 for “IWATANI及圖” (IWATANI and design) was registered in 1982 and remained in effect until 1987, suggesting the earlier mark was retired around the time the new logo was introduced.[3]
The 1987 logo was registered as a trademark in Taiwan in November 1987, with registrations for both the wordmark “iwatani” and a combined “iwatani及圖” (iwatani and design) mark filed on the same day.[4][5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The symbol in the Iwatani logo represents a bean sprouting and growing, according to a company representative’s explanation in a recorded presentation about the brand logo.[6] The same presentation notes that the company renewed its brand logo for its 50th anniversary, and that for most products, the logo created for the company’s 30th anniversary is still used.[6]
The current logo features a stylized letter “I” enclosed within a circle, positioned above the word “Iwatani,” as described in the U.S. trademark registration for the mark.[7]
In 1970, the company adopted the corporate slogan “Creation of a more comfortable space on the Earth is what Iwatani wishes and strives for” to mark its 40th anniversary.[8] While this slogan is not part of the logo itself, it reflects the company’s environmental positioning that has accompanied its visual identity since that time.
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