In Issue 25 of Logo Histories’ Research Archive I continue to take a dive into 1980s and 90s corporate identities from Japan with assets from Benesse, Kyudenku and ACOM. It’s surprising to see how Japan managed to hold on to the modernist aesthetic as DTP started to impose itself on Western brand identities.
Research Archive is a look at some of the materials I’ve picked up to write Logo Histories. If you’d like to support this project and access our Logo Histories archive which now includes 100+ stories of logo design of the past (the biggest of its kind) (Free previews here) as well as receiving new stories straight to you inbox, click the button below and upgrade to paid.
Benesse
PAOS
1990, Japan
Kyudenku
Shigeo Ikkatsuoka, Shigeo Ikkatsuoka & Hironobu Yamada
1989, Japan, Construction




ACOM
Koji Ichihara, Kazuo Hamada & DENTSU
1989, Japan Finance
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Logo Histories: Japan Airlines
Want more? Check out Landor’s first brand identity for Japan Airlines from 1989, which they would later return to in the 2000s. This is perhaps a far more visually dry identity, but offers some fascinating insights that can be learned from. Don’t miss out on this and a unique archive of over 100 other Logo Histories by subscribing here.
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Extra Issue – Unlocking opinion and insights from the past.