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Chart showing Canon's logo through the years

Canon wasn’t always Canon and Canon’s logo wasn’t always bright red. Those bright red letters with their distinctive typeface had undergone several changes through the years.

Back in 1933, Canon’s logo was an image of Kwanon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, which was also the name given to the cameras that were manufactured, and went along the lines of the company producing the best cameras. It wasn’t until Canon decided to begin marketing worldwide that they should change their logo to something that would be worldly accepted, according to Canon’s website.

With that in mind, Canon became the official name and logo in 1935. “The word Canon has a number of meanings, including scriptures, criterion and standard. The trademark was therefore worthy of a company involved with precision equipment, where accuracy is fundamentally important,” said the website.

(via Petapixel)