Konami Group Corporation, the Japanese entertainment and gaming holding company, has used a red typographic wordmark as its group brand logo since 2003. The current mark is a serif wordmark in a shade the company calls “KONAMI RED,” a cardinal red selected for its familiarity and its expression of quality and class.[1]
Design and History
Konami’s first logo, a blue wordmark, was established in March 1981.[2] In August 1986, the company introduced a new corporate identity featuring a symbol of orange and red curved bands arranged diagonally above a gray wordmark.[2] This “bacon strips” logo, as it came to be known among fans, was designed by James Cross of Cross Associates and used the Univers Black Italic typeface.[3] In 1998, the wordmark was straightened and its color changed to black, though the wave symbol remained.[4]
To mark its 30th anniversary on March 19, 2003, Konami renewed its group brand logo design. The new logo was chosen as Konami’s internal and external brand identity to symbolize the expansion of the Konami Group’s business field and its scheduled shift to becoming a holding company.[5] The new wordmark took effect worldwide from April 1, 2003.[5] The 2003 redesign abandoned the wave symbol and orange color entirely, replacing them with a red wordmark.[4]
In 2013, the knife-shaped banner that had accompanied the wordmark since 2003 was removed, leaving only the red wordmark itself. This variant had originally been used for corporate purposes from 2003 to 2013 before becoming the standard mark across all applications.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
Konami’s official brand page describes the group brand logo as designed under the theme of “Contemporary Quality,” using a dynamic serif font that demonstrates substance and reassurance. Based on the group’s foundations of innovation and originality, the logo is said to demonstrate class, confidence and vibrancy.[1]
At the 2003 launch, Konami stated that the new logo expressed the group’s business expansion while maintaining the fundamentals of creativity and innovation and portraying confidence and surprise. The wordmark was also described as expressing the mindset of continually moving forward to the next stage while sharing the same value with its customers.[5]
The red color, officially named “Konami Red,” was chosen to show stability and strong appeal to Konami’s “Creativity” and “Innovation.”[5] The company’s Japanese brand page further describes KONAMI RED as a cardinal red that conveys approachability while expressing quality, and represents the corporate attitude of offering inspiration and reassurance.[7]
Typography and Design
Konami’s official brand page describes the logo’s typeface as a “dynamic serif font.”[1] The Japanese version elaborates that the logo is based on a bold serif typeface expressing quality and reassurance, with an accent of motion in the serifs to convey a breezy freshness.[7]
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