Honda logo history and meaning

Since the inception of the brand, the Honda logo emblem has remained largely the same, focusing around the first letter of the Company’s name (H), rather than the whole brand name like other competitors.

Today, we’re going to give you an insight into an often-overlooked part of Honda history, by discussing Honda logo evolution.

The Honda logo is one of the easiest to recognise in the world. Remaining mostly unchanged throughout the course of its life, the Honda symbol includes a capital “H”. In some variations of the Honda logo, the name “Honda” will also appear underneath the emblem in a bold red font.

Honda’s logo is simple but eye-catching. The capital H comes from the name of the Honda brand, and the Founder of the Company, Soichiro Honda. In the official emblem, the H is narrower on the bottom than it is on the top.

Some people say the shape looks a lot like someone raising their arms to the sky.The old Honda logo and the newest design for the brand’s emblem are very similar, as both revolve around the use of the capital letter “H”. The decision to use the “H” as the official symbol of Honda was a simple one, as the Company wanted to quickly remind customers of its name.

The Honda brand began life creating small pick-up trucks for commercial purposes, which featured the initial Honda logo on the hood. The second production car from Honda was a sportscar in the style of a 2-door roadster.

Since then, the Company has produced various devices and automobiles, each sporting a version of the Honda logo design.The first version of the Honda logo emblem doesn’t look much like the design we know today. The badge stayed with the Company for eight years. This old Honda logo came with a burgundy red background and a light blue “H” at the center of the red rectangle.

The H was unusual in style, with a much wider top half and a narrower bottom half.

The word “Honda” also appeared underneath the enlarged and stylized letter “H”. The original typeface was a simple serif choice, with very clean, easy-to-read capital letters.The 1969 Honda symbol was a dramatic change from the original. Here, the emblem (or capital H) was the only element of the Honda cars logo remaining. The name was removed from the insignia, as was any coloring. Instead, the H was displayed in white on a black background.

This version of the Honda logo design made the “H” a lot narrower, but the upper portion of the capital letter was still much broader than the lower half.In 1981, the Honda logo changed again, this time to something quite similar to the design we know today. The lines of the logo were redefined, and the “H” was written in black on a white background with a black border. The emblem was a kind of rectangle in shape, with curved edges.

Underneath the official Honda emblem, the Company once again showcased its name in bold, black font. The typeface was a thick serif choice, written entirely in capital letters.For the year 2000, Honda added more color and texture to its design. The name “Honda” now appeared in a bright red shade. The red Honda wordmark sat underneath a stylized version of the previous logo, where the H took on a 3D silver design.

The silver arms of the Honda “H” are also slightly elongated towards the top.

When Honda released a motorcycle version of its brand, it also created a new logo. The design started as something a lot more complex than the original Honda cars logo, with the word “Honda motor” written on a blue background with a gold and white outline.