Family Inada Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of massage chairs, based in Osaka and founded in 1962 by Nichimu Inada [1]. The company’s visual identity has undergone significant changes tied to its corporate rebranding and global expansion, with the current mark reflecting a unified international brand strategy.
Design and History
For over two decades, the company operated under two separate brand names: “Family” domestically in Japan and “Inada” overseas. This dual-brand approach was necessary because “Family” was considered a generic word abroad and could not be registered as a company name in some markets. When the company first entered the United States, it launched the “Inada” brand, and over time that name became well established internationally [2].
On July 1, 2013, the company changed its corporate name from Family Co., Ltd. to Family Inada Co., Ltd., unifying its global brand. As part of this transition, the company introduced a new logo and logo mark. The wordmark places “FAMILY” above “INADA,” with “INADA” as the main logo. The accompanying logo mark features three chairs, representing the “chair of health, chair of family, and chair of happiness.” The overall design incorporates rounded forms to suggest a global scale for the unified worldwide logo [2].
Prior to the 2013 rebrand, the company used a different mark. A trademark registered in 2006 described the earlier logo as consisting of the wording “FAMILY” and “inada” with a design of connected half circles, rendered in black for the text and red for the graphic element [3]. A later trademark registration describes the current mark as consisting of the wording “FAMILY INADA” with a square with curved edges and three zigzag lines [4].
Meaning and Symbolism
The company has documented the meaning behind its 2013 logo mark. The three chairs symbolize the company’s mission: the “chair of health,” the “chair of family,” and the “chair of happiness.” The decision to keep “FAMILY” in the logo was intended to preserve the founding spirit, which held that employees are like family and co-creators of the company. The “INADA” main logo was adopted to carry forward the company’s next aspirations under its established international name [2].
The company also created special anniversary logos. For its 50th anniversary in 2012, it established a commemorative logo used in promotions from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2013 [5]. For its 55th anniversary in 2017, the company designed a logo based on the original massage chair from its founding era, with the number “55” subtly incorporated into the design [6].
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