ロゴ王国日本

～家紋から社標まで～

　日本はグラフィックデザインにおいて長い歴史がある。奈良時代（710～784）や平安時（794～1185）には既に、宮廷の貴族たちは家紋を用い始めていた。

最も古く歴史ある家紋で現行のものは、皇室のシンボルである「菊花紋」、豊臣秀吉に使用され現在は内閣総理大臣が用いる「桐紋」、そして徳川家の「三つ葉葵」である。

　江戸時代（1603～1868）になると家紋は商人、役者、遊女、百姓の間でも使用されていた。そして近年になると、多くの日本企業が家紋を会社のトレードマークとして取り入れた。例えば三菱のロゴは、創業者である岩崎弥太郎の家紋と土佐藩の家紋（土佐藩主 山内家の家紋）が合体したものである（図参照）。日本航空のマークである輪の中のタンチョウは、「鶴の丸」家紋に由来している。住友商事の社標は「井桁」紋であり、これは井戸を上から見た形を示したものだ（井戸は生活に欠かせないものであることから家紋として用いられるようになった）。

   このように、日本の会社のロゴも家紋のように、自然の要素の象り（かたどり）か、もしくは幾何学的な図案でできている。資生堂のロゴは「椿」であり、ヤマト運輸のトレードマークはあの有名な「クロネコ」である。母クロネコが子クロネコを口にくわえて運んでいるデザインだ。スバル自動車のロゴは「昴の六連星」のデザイン。そしてトヨタのロゴは3つの「楕円形」が組み合わさったもので、大きな楕円の中に小さな楕円が2つ描かれている。この2つの楕円がTOYOTAの「T」の形を作っている。

　佐川急便の宅配便ブランドのシンボルは「飛脚」である。街道を走り郵便物や荷物を届けた飛脚は、江戸時代のスピーディーな郵便配達員であった。

　他に日本の会社の社標として、「円の中に漢字一字」を配置したものもよく見られる。例えば三越や日本通運のトレードマークがそうである。

　現在の日本企業のトレードマークは、昔の家族の家紋とその役割が似ている。ロゴのデザインや様式は、会社の威信や身分、その歴史を顧客に伝えているのである。

フロリアーノ・テッラーノ

In the Empire of logos

Japan from kamon to trade marks 

Japan has a long and rich tradition of graphic arts and design. In Nara (710 - 784) and Heian (794 - 1185) periods Japanese court nobility began to use kamon, family crests. 

  Use of kamon was necessary during the battles to distinguish hierarchy and faction of the warriors who brought sashimono, banners painted with their family crests. The most ancient kamon still in use are: kiku-mon, the sixteen petal chrysanthemum symbol of Japanese Imperial House; kiri-mon, the paulownia leaves crest which was bestowed on Toyotomi Hideyoshi by the Emperor and now symbol of the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan; the mitsuba aoi, the three malva leaves kamon of Tokugawa clan. In Edo-Tokugawa period (1603 – 1868) kamonbegan to be used not only by samurai families but also by merchants, actors, courtesans and farmers.

In modern Japan new industrial companies used lots of kamon as their logos and trade marks.

Mitsubishi corporation logo, the well-known three-diamond emblem, is a combination of Iwasaki family and Tosa clan kamon. Iwasaki Yataro, founder of old Mitsubishi company, had worked with Tosa clan before and for this reason he chose a logo which united together his family and Tosa clan kamon. JAL old logo, a circle with a red tsuru, Japanese crane, originated from the tsuru no maru, the Hino and Yanagiwara families crest. The Sumitomo Corporation logo has its origin in igeta kamon which represents a well.

Like kamon, Japanese companies trade marks as well originate from natural elements like leaves, trees, flowers, animals or from geometric shapes. Shiseido company’s logo is a tsubaki, camellia flower, Yamato Transport’s trade mark is akuroneko, a black mother cat carring her kitten in mouth, Subaru company’s logo is six stars’ design of Pleiades, Subaru in Japanese. Toyota Motor Corporation’s sign consists in three ovals, one bigger in which two perpendicular center ovals combine to symbolize the letter "T" for Toyota. 

Sagawa Express company’ s logo is a hykyaku, an express messenger of Tokugawa period who was able to run from Edo, the old name of Tokyo, to Kyoto in 70 hours bringing deliveries.
Other Japanese firms’ trade marks consist in a character deigned in a round or square shape, like Mistukoshi or Nippon Express logos. Nowadays Japanese companies’ trade marks have a similar role of Japanese family crests in past. 

With their design and shapes, logos communicate company’s authority and quality, the same of kamon of clans and families in old Japan.

(www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI40udOVIK0

and www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNIHUHLGR9o)

Floriano Terrano

The Dragon’s claw

The most famous companies

and logos of Korea in the world

Since 70s to 90s of twentieth century the Miracle on the Han River happens in Korea (한강의 기적, Hangangeui Kijeok). Economy of Korean peninsula booms and Korea joins the streak of Four Asian Tigers or Asian Dragons together with

Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (아시아의 네 마리 용, 亞洲四小龍). Economic miracle begins during the government of Park Chung-hee (박정희, 朴正熙 1917 – 1979) who ruled since 1963 to 1979 and 1998 Seoul Olympics are the miracle’s peak. The entire world in that occasion could know the power and liveliness of Korean economy based on chaebol (재벌, “monopoly, business family”) business conglomerates which are similar to Japanese zaibatsu (財閥). As it is usual in Far Eastern conglomerates, chaebol deal with many fields, from electronics to automotive, from construction to finance, from chemistry to food and shipbuilding. Korean shipyards are until nowadays the engine of Korean economy. Korea is leader for the value of produced ships and it was the biggest producer of ships since 2004 until when China recently surpassed it. The most important chaebol have branches exclusively involved in shipbuilding like Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, the former Daewoo Heavy Industries. STX (STX그룹) is an

industrial giant specialized in shipbuilding only and it owns also shipyards around the world, Europe included. Samsung (삼성그룹, 三星, “Three Stars”) is one of the most famous Korean brands in the world. Samsung was founded in 1938 in Daegu by Lee Byung-chull (이병철, 李秉喆, 1910 – 1987) and at the beginning it was a trading company in food, insurance and retail business. At the end of 60s Samsung begins its adventure in electronics and nowadays it is a giant of world economy with a turnover like the 12% of Korean GDP. Its products range over a wide variety of subjects, from household appliances to mobile phones, from computers to televisions, LCD screens and air conditioners. Samsung has also a construction branch called Samseong Mulsan (삼성물산) which was involved in the erection of some of the highest skyscrapers of the world like

Taipei 101 in Taiwan and Petronas Towers in Malaysia. In automotive field, Samsung Motor was almost entirely sold to Renault which owns the 80%. Samsung logo is today a blue oval with the company name in white letters nevertheless the old logos showed the three stars of the name Samsung. The other giant of Korean electronics is LG Electronics (LG전자). LG was founded in 1958 from the union of the companies Lucky dealing with housewares and Goldstar dealing with appliances. The name LG derived from the initials L and G of two companies even if now LG is read as the motto “Life’s Good” and its logo is a red circle with L and G letters which form a stylized smiling face. Automotive industry is the other pillar of Korean economy. Daewoo (대우, 大宇, “Great Universe”) was one of the biggest producers of motor vehicles of the world. After 1997 Asian financial crisis it was sold to American General Motors. Hyundai (현대, 現代, “Modernity”), founded in 1947 in Ulsan, was in the beginning a construction company and then started to deal with electronics, finance and

above all automotive. Its logo is an italic H circumscribed in a silver oval. Hyundai acquired Kia Motors (기아자동차 주식회사, 起亞自動車株式會社, “Rising out of Asia”) in 1998 and its name became Hyundai Kia Automotive Group (현대자동차 그룹). Nowadays it is the fourth world's leading producer of motor vehicles and the second in Asia after Japanese Toyota. Hanjin (한진, 韓進, “Progress of Korea”), founded in 1945, is one of world’s leaders of logistics and oceanfreight and it owns many ships and containers. Its logo is a light blue circle with an inscribed round H which slightly resembles the shape of Korean national symbol taegeuk (태극, 太極). Korean Air Lines (대한항공, 大韓航空), the flag carrier founded in 1962, is in Hanjin group too and its red and blue logo is very similar to taegeuk as well. The only Korean competitor of Korean Air is Asiana Airlines (아시아나 항공, 아시아나 航空), founded in 1988, which connects Korea with many destinations above all in Far East. Lotte (롯데그룹, Japanese 株式会社ロッテ) is a leading company in food and confectionery both in Korea and in Japan and Asia. It was founded in 1948 in Tokyo by Shin Kyuk-Ho (신격호, 辛格浩) also known as Shigemitsu Takeo (重光 武雄)

with Japanese name. Lotte's ginseng-flavoured chewing gums are famous not only in Far East. Lotte’s logo is a red circle with a L divided into three vertical wavy in lower part segments. The biggest and oldest Korea’s department store is Shinsegae (신세계, 新世界, “New World”), which was originally the Korean branch of Japanese department store Mitsukoshi (株式会社三越) opened in 1930 in Gyeongseong (경성, 京城, “Capital City”), old name of Seoul during the Japanese rule. Shinsegae’s logo is a red flower with seven petals. Seven is one of the lucky numbers in Korea like in China and Japan. The “claw” of Korean companies operating in many fields are widespread across the world and they bring Korea from East to all foreign countries.

Floriano Terrano

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Chi ha ancora il sogno americano?

In Oriente nasce

il Chinese dream

Il mondo si sta risvegliando dal sogno americano? Nuovi imperi, nuove economie stanno nascendo portando valori diversi da quelli degli Stati Uniti? E’ la fine dell’ottimismo americano? A questa deduzione sembra portare un sondaggio realizzato intervistando le popolazioni di 22 nazioni in occasione del World Economic Forum.
Cina e India in testa, seguite da Inghilterra e, al quarto posto, gli Usa. In Cina del resto questo è l’anno del maiale, simbolo per eccellenza di fortuna e ricchezza. Non è difficile dedurre quale paese occupi l’ultimo posto: la malinconica e sofferente Italia, dove piangere e lamentarsi rappresentano le attività produttive più diffuse. Quello che però più stupisce è la mancanza di fiducia in Giappone e Corea del Sud. In particolare la Corea sta vivendo un periodo di grande prosperità economica e, anche con le sue ridotte dimensioni, è risuscita a farsi spazio e ad imporsi tra le superpotenze asiatiche di Giappone e Cina. Eppure per i coreani il futuro non è così sereno. Il Giappone, il grande paese che dalla distruzione della fine dell’ultima guerra mondiale è riuscito ad essere la seconda potenza mondiale, ora teme e ha paura della sua madre antica, l’immensa Cina. L’Impero del Sol Levante, con lo sguardo spezzante con cui ha sempre guardato i cinesi, ora vede la sua economia superata dalla potenza produttiva del made in China. Tuttavia i giapponesi, unitamente agli statunitensi, hanno partecipato all’ascesa di Pechino: fino a pochi anni fa, le più grandi case di produzione nipponiche ed americane avevano nella Cina meridionale, nel Canton soprattutto, il loro immenso serbatoio di manodopera a basso costo. Ora cosa è cambiato? Gli ingegneri cinesi hanno studiato i modelli industriali prodotti dagli stranieri e sono dunque in grado di costruirli uguali in qualità, ma in quantità decisamente maggiori, spiazzando nelle vendite la concorrenza estera. L’economia cinese, grazie alla diffusione capillare della rete di distribuzione, lecita e illecita, dei prodotti, è in ascesa vertiginosa. Di conseguenza anche il potere d’acquisto della popolazione è cresciuto fortemente. Ma cosa comprano, in Cina, i nuovi ricchi? Vestiti di marca e automobili di lusso straniere, soprattutto. I cinesi ricchi vogliono imitare, o meglio diventare, occidentali in tutto e per tutto. Si può dire che per loro il sogno americano è una scoperta recente. Il modello statunitense si materializza nelle Nike, le scarpe simbolo del sorriso made in Usa. In Cina ogni giorno aprono 1.2 nuovi punti vendita Nike.
Ma cosa direbbero, cosa farebbero i giovani cinesi, rampolli della nuova classe benestante, se sapessero che le Nike con cui calzano il loro American dream in realtà sono prodotte in Cina, proprio nelle province meridionali dove vivono? In che cosa, allora, dista il sogno cinese da quello americano? I sogni, si sa, sono fatti di benessere, soldi, acquisti. Si sia cinesi o americani, i sogni sono gli stessi di tutti gli esseri umani. Bei vestiti, macchine di lusso, viaggi, un portafogli farcito da alleggerire nello shopping. Il sogno è lo stesso, il popolo è diverso.

Floriano Terrano