The evolution of our brand

During Kyocera’s five decades in the United States, there have been many landmark moments that have defined our 50 years in proud partnership with American businesses: the creation of Mita Copystar America in 1973 before becoming part of the Kyocera brand in 1999, the launch of our ECOSYS range of printers in 1992, the acquisition of DataBank in 2017, and Kyocera Document Solutions America being named a Great Place to Work in 2021 to name but a few. Another such milestone was our 2019 corporate rebranding.

“On the outside, your brand may seem like it consists only of elements such as logos and colors, but your brand is actually the entire identity of your business,” says Forbes. “Your brand gives you personality.” To this end, one of Kyocera’s key strengths has always been its brand, a symbol that has strong ties to the philosophies of our founder Dr. Kazuo Inamori. We have practiced philosophies such as “Do the right thing as a human being,” “Aim high,” and “Be a pioneer” while working alongside American business over the last 50 years in the United States. It’s why Kyocera has become such a trusted brand among businesses of all sizes across all sectors. “Trust from your audience is one of the most important things you can have as a business, but this isn’t always easy to gain,” says Forbes in the same thought leadership article on the importance of branding to business.

With the knowledge that those who stand still fall behind, the Kyocera brand has evolved and innovated to get where it is today: a global leader in document solutions, providing a wide range of office technology, diverse software solutions, commercial printing technology, and ICT. Digital transformation has been top of mind for business leaders across the globe in recent years, and in 2019, Kyocera Document Solutions decided that the time was right to give its brand a visual makeover to reflect its new purposes and new technologies. To align the values we were forging at the end of the last decade and prepare for our entry into emerging markets, we needed to wipe the slate clean. It was time for a fresh look to coincide with our fresh approach to meeting the changing needs of modern professionals. As part of our rebranding mission, we had the help of Saffron, the prestigious agency behind YouTube’s rebrand and Facebook's transformation to Meta. As part of its process, Saffron interviewed more than 80 stakeholders from 8 different markets, while visiting our offices in Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and, of course, the United States. They mapped the customer journey from start to finish in workshops and also spoke with sales partners and customers. It was an exhaustive process that was worth the wait.

In April 2019, Kyocera was finally able to unveil its new visual image. Those familiar with the Kyocera brand may already know the final agreed claim: "Put knowledge to work to drive change." The new Kyocera brand represented many things. It signified a brand that uses foresight to anticipate people’s needs, an organization with cutting-edge technology that enables knowledge to be spread quickly and securely throughout organizations. The new Kyocera brand represented constant learning, technological excellence, and empathy. It would be a symbol for better decision-making so that modern professionals can build a brighter tomorrow together.

Once the new brand was finalized, a training program was carried out so that team leaders around the world could share and teach the new identity tools with their teams. More than 70,000 Kyocera team members participated in the program, spreading the brand's values and personality across the entire organization. But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and along with the new brand idea around people as the core of values and objectives, Kyocera also unveiled a new color palette, graphic icons, fonts, and even visual gestures.

These visual tools would consolidate Kyocera's new image as a company with a modern outlook and personality, an organization that is ready to continue helping partners and customers to drive businesses forward in the digital economy.

Reflecting on 50 years in proud partnership with American businesses, Kyocera’s proud past is what inspires its optimistic future. And with a brand that represents trust, quality, technological excellence, and eco-friendliness, we are ready to drive new success with American businesses in the coming 50 years.