While many think of motorcycles and electronics when they think of Yamaha, the company was actually founded by Torakusu Yamaha for his ability to create high quality pianos! While Yamaha still creates top of the line pianos, it was not until about 1954 that Yamaha began entering the motorcycle and electronic markets. It was not until 1967 that the first logo was created.
Yamaha’s logo has an interesting history, the symbol used for their logo is actually a tuning fork. This was created at the time in the 60’s when a common tuning fork was established. The tuning fork was used to represent their presence in the piano market.
Still to this day the Logo has remained almost unchanged from the original. There was a period in the late eighties and early nineties when the famous tuning fork was removed in order to bring more attention the name itself. However, in 1998 the tuning fork was added on and is now a symbol which denotes quality.
The Yamaha Logo is a good representation of how powerful branding and design can be. The Yamaha logo is only slightly different for Yamaha Co. and the Yamaha Motor Co., showing its universal character, being able to represent pianos, motorcycles, drums and electronics. It was designed nearly fifty years ago and has remained nearly unchanged to this date, proving to be a timeless design.
Design Elements of the Yamaha logo
The Tuning Forks
The Yamaha logo is comprised of three tuning forks overlapping one another. They are to represent technology, production and sales. However I suspect the majority of users do not see it as three tuning forks but simply as a creative pattern.
The Fonts of the Yamaha logo
The font and symbol used in the Yamaha logo are timeless designs. While the font is blocky and square it still shows a sort of strength, having a robust feel to it. Still today it is a sign of quality and craftsmanship to have the logo on a product.
The font shown is not the correct Yamaha font – refer to the shape of the M. Cheers