The Konami logo is one of those marks that’s burned into the memory of anyone who grew up playing video games. It belongs to Konami Group Corporation, a Japanese entertainment company whose official history starts on March 21, 1969, when Kagemasa Kozuki founded a jukebox rental and repair business in Osaka. Look at it now.
Within the broader landscape of gaming company logos, Konami’s mark has gone through four main designs since its first official logo in 1981. The current red wordmark, set in a modified Optima-style typeface, arrived in 2003. The famous 1986 “bacon strips” logo is credited to Cross Associates, the studio of James Cross. Nobody outside the company has been credited with the newer versions.
Konami has never been afraid to scrap everything and start fresh. That alone makes it unusual among video game logos.
What Is the Konami Logo?
The Konami logo is an uppercase red “KONAMI” wordmark in a modified version of the Optima typeface. Konami introduced it in April 2003 for its 30th anniversary, first inside a red knife-shaped banner, and has used the wordmark alone since 2013. No individual designer has been publicly credited.
| Symbol | None; the current logo is a pure wordmark |
| Designer/agency | Not publicly credited (the 1986 logo is credited to Cross Associates) |
| Current version since | April 2003 (wordmark); standalone without the banner since 2013 |
| Colors (hex) | Red #BF0021 and white #FFFFFF |
| Typeface | Modified Optima Bold (often listed as Optima Pro Bold); stock Optima is the closest match |
| Previous major version | Orange and red “bacon strips” logo (1986–2003) |
The logo shows up on game packaging, digital storefronts, web design assets, corporate communications and Yu-Gi-Oh! products.
How Has the Konami Logo Evolved Over Time?
Konami’s own corporate history lists the logo milestones: the KONAMI logo was established in March 1981, a new corporate identity with a new logo arrived in August 1986, the lettering changed from italic to upright in October 1998, and a new logo was introduced in April 2003 for the company’s 30th anniversary.
The color story runs from blue to orange and red, and finally to a single deep red.
Before the Logo (1969–1981)
Konami started as a jukebox rental and repair business in 1969 and was incorporated as Konami Industry Co., Ltd. on March 19, 1973, when it began making amusement machines for arcades.
Konami’s official history doesn’t show a formal logo before 1981, and there’s little reliable documentation of how the name was presented in those early years.
The First Konami Logo (1981–1986)
The first official logo, established in March 1981, was a blue lowercase “Konami” wordmark with a capital “K” whose stylized shape looks a little like an “I,” so fans joke that it reads “Kionami.” The lettering is generally identified as a modified sans-serif in the Helvetica style.
No designer has been publicly credited. This was the era of arcade hits like Frogger and Scramble.
The “Bacon Strips” Logo (1986–1998)
In August 1986 Konami introduced a new corporate identity. The logo placed two stepped, parallel shapes, one orange and one red, above an all-caps “KONAMI” set in gray Univers Black Italic. Fans nicknamed the shapes “bacon strips.”
The design is credited to Cross Associates, the design studio run by James Cross. Which designer inside the studio drew it has never been firmly established.
This is the logo most players from that generation remember. It sat on NES cartridges and arcade cabinets during the years of Castlevania, Contra and Gradius.
Updated Bacon Strips (1998–2003)
In October 1998 the lettering was straightened from italic to upright and changed from gray to black, set in Univers Black. The orange and red strips stayed.
This version arrived during the PlayStation era, the same year Metal Gear Solid launched. According to the fan archive Gradius Home World, its lettering still appears on Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game card backs.
The Red Banner Logo (2003–2013)
In April 2003, for its 30th anniversary, Konami replaced the strips with an uppercase “KONAMI” in white, placed inside a red banner with a slanted, knife-like end. The typography switched to a modified Optima Bold.
No designer has been publicly credited. Gradius Home World notes that Konami Sports Club still uses this banner version.
Current Konami Logo (2013–Present)
The banner was dropped, leaving “KONAMI” in deep red on white. The wordmark itself is the same 2003 lettering, which had already been used on its own for corporate purposes. Since 2013 it has been the standard mark on games.
It follows the broader shift toward minimalist design in corporate branding. Some fans miss the bacon strips, but the plain wordmark works well on small screens and social media avatars.
What Do the Design Elements of the Konami Logo Mean?
The current Konami logo communicates through two things only: font choice and color. There’s no icon, no container, no abstract shape. It’s carried by the modified Optima letterforms and that specific shade of red.
The flared strokes, thick-and-thin contrast and pointed joins give the letters a mix of approachability and precision. Konami hasn’t published an explanation of the design intent, so any deeper reading is interpretation.
What Are the Konami Logo Colors?
The primary color is a deep red, Hex #BF0021, which is the value given in the Konami brand specification reproduced by Gradius Home World and matches the red sampled from the current logo. In RGB terms, that’s (191, 0, 33).
Konami hasn’t published an official CMYK or Pantone value. The PMS 485 C match that circulates online is a much brighter, more orange red, so it doesn’t agree with #BF0021. For print work, match the hex by eye rather than trusting that number.
Red signals energy and urgency, and in Japan it also carries associations with celebration. For an entertainment company, it fits.
The secondary color is white (#FFFFFF), used as the background or as the text color on reversed applications. Together, the color palette works like a complementary color scheme in practice, pairing strong contrast for readability.
Konami fits right in with other red logos across industries, from entertainment to fast food. Red grabs attention.
For files, a vector graphics version (SVG) keeps the thin Optima strokes sharp at any size.
What Font Is Used in the Konami Logo?
The current Konami wordmark uses a customized version of Optima Bold, often listed as Optima Pro Bold. Optima, designed by Hermann Zapf, isn’t a straightforward serif font, and it’s not quite a standard sans-serif either. It sits somewhere between the two.
Optima has subtle flared strokes at the ends of letters. Not full serifs, but enough to add character. Konami’s version adjusts some letter shapes, so typing “KONAMI” in stock Optima gets you close but not identical.
The older logos used different fonts: a modified Helvetica-style face in 1981, Univers Black Italic in 1986 and upright Univers Black in 1998.
The kerning is tight but not cramped, and the letterforms stay legible at small sizes on mobile screens or game menus.
What Are the Hidden Meanings in the Konami Logo?
The name itself has a clear origin. “Konami” combines the names of the founders: Kagemasa Kozuki, Yoshinobu Nakama and Tatsuo Miyasako. Fans sometimes add that “konami” can be read in Japanese as “small wave,” but that’s a coincidence people point out, not the official story.
The old bacon strips looked a bit like a D-pad or a plus sign to some fans. Konami never confirmed any such reading.
The current wordmark has no hidden symbol or Easter egg. The design aims at clarity and recognition, not cryptic messaging.
How Does the Konami Logo Compare to Competitor Logos?
Among Japanese gaming companies, Konami’s current logo sits at the minimalist end. Capcom uses a blue wordmark with a yellow outline, and Sega keeps its blue wordmark with a white outline. Nintendo uses its rounded “racetrack” outline. Square Enix also goes for a plain wordmark.
Konami’s choice to drop everything except the word puts it in good company with clean corporate marks, while many studios still use combination marks or symbols.
Among Western companies, EA also simplified its logo over the years. Epic Games went the other way and kept an emblem, and Ubisoft kept its swirl icon.
The red gives Konami an advantage in visual hierarchy terms. On a shelf of game cases or in a digital storefront, a red wordmark tends to pull the eye before blue or black ones.
Where Konami stands out most is the character of its typography. The Optima-based letterforms have a personality that something like Valve‘s plain wordmark doesn’t have.
What Cultural Impact Has the Konami Logo Had?
The Konami logo, particularly the 1986 bacon strips version, became a shared visual experience for millions of gamers. It didn’t just sit on a box. On many games, an animated version of the logo played on screen at start-up, and the details varied from game to game and console to console.
Those boot-up sequences became part of the ritual. You’d turn on the console, and the Konami logo told you something good was coming. Castlevania. Contra. Gradius. Metal Gear.
Fans still recreate these intros in tribute videos, and the bacon strips logo shows up on fan art and retro merchandise. It crossed over from corporate branding into genuine nostalgia.
Then there’s the Konami Code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A), which first appeared in Gradius on the NES. It isn’t the logo, but the brand association is so strong that the two are basically inseparable in gaming culture.
How Does the Konami Logo Fit Into the Overall Brand Identity?
Konami’s logo is one piece of a broader identity that spans video games, trading cards, fitness clubs and gaming machines. The red wordmark ties these together.
Konami’s internal brand guidelines aren’t public, but you can see the structure in use. Games and corporate materials use the red wordmark, while Konami Sports Club has kept the older banner version.
Each game franchise carries its own visual identity. The Metal Gear Solid logo has its own military aesthetic, and Yu-Gi-Oh! has distinct branding. The Konami wordmark sits above them as the parent mark.
This structure relies on unity through consistent color psychology (red equals Konami) while giving sub-brands room to develop their own storytelling and personality.
How Should the Konami Logo Be Used?
This is general advice, not Konami’s own rules.
- KONAMI is a trademark of the Konami group, so commercial use, such as merchandise or promoting your own product, needs permission.
- Editorial use in news, reviews and commentary is generally treated differently from commercial use, though the rules vary by country.
- Don’t redraw the logo with a stock Optima font and pass it off as official; the letterforms are customized, and the trademark applies either way.
- Licensed products follow copyright-line requirements that Konami sets for its partners.
FAQ on the Konami Logo
What does the Konami logo look like today?
The current Konami logo is a standalone red wordmark: “KONAMI” in uppercase letters set in a modified Optima Bold, in deep red (#BF0021) on white. No icon, no banner, no graphic element.
What font is used in the Konami logo?
A customized version of Optima Bold (often listed as Optima Pro Bold). It sits between a serif and a sans-serif, with flared stroke endings that give the letters their character. The 1986 logo used Univers Black Italic instead.
When was Konami founded?
Konami’s official history dates the company to March 21, 1969, when Kagemasa Kozuki founded a jukebox rental and repair business in Osaka. It was incorporated as Konami Industry Co., Ltd. on March 19, 1973.
When was the Konami logo first introduced?
Konami’s first official logo was established in March 1981, a blue “Konami” wordmark. The orange and red “bacon strips” logo followed in August 1986.
Who designed the Konami logo?
The 1986 bacon strips logo is credited to Cross Associates, the studio of James Cross. Its italic Univers lettering, with its tight font spacing, defined the look. The designers behind the 2003 and 2013 versions have never been publicly identified.
What did the old Konami logo look like?
The old logo, used from 1986 to 2003, had two stepped strips, one orange and one red, above the word “KONAMI.” Fans nicknamed them “bacon strips.” The text was gray italic until 1998, then black and upright.
What do the colors in the Konami logo mean?
Konami hasn’t explained its color choice. In color theory, red reads as energy and excitement, which fits a video game company, and white gives the contrast needed on packaging and screens.
Where does the name Konami come from?
It combines the names of the founders: Kagemasa Kozuki, Yoshinobu Nakama and Tatsuo Miyasako.
How many times has the Konami logo changed?
Konami’s history lists logo milestones in 1981, 1986, 1998 and 2003, and the 2003 banner was dropped in 2013. That gives five versions of the logo since the first official one.
How does the Konami logo compare to other gaming logos?
It’s one of the most minimal marks in the industry. Studios like Riot Games pair the name with a symbol, and the Bethesda brand has also gone through its own redesigns, while Konami relies on the word alone.
Can I use the official Konami logo?
Not freely for commercial purposes. KONAMI is a trademark, so merchandise and promotional use require permission. Editorial use in news or reviews is generally treated differently, depending on local law.
Conclusion
The Konami logo has gone through more reinventions than most game companies attempt. Five versions since 1981, each reflecting where the company stood at that moment.
From a blue wordmark in the arcade era to the bacon strips that defined a generation of console start-up screens, every change marked a new chapter. The current red wordmark in modified Optima strips away everything except the name.
Konami’s approach to brand style proves something. You don’t need a complex symbol to build lasting brand recognition in the gaming industry.
Sometimes the word is enough.
Sources
- Konami Group, Corporate History – https://www.konami.com/corporate/en/history/
- Gradius Home World, Konami Logo History – https://www.gamestone.co.uk/gradiushomeworld/guides_konami_logo_history.php
- Wikipedia, Konami – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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