2016 is poised to be a big year for Kawasaki->ke299 as the company will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the USA. So in keeping with the American tradition of celebrating every chance possible, the Japanese motorcycle company is already preparing for its 50th anniversary celebration and one of the first orders of business is to create a new logo.

Actually, it’s the same Kawasaki logo that comes with a slightly different treatment to it, an update, if you will, that “reflects on the brand’s global identity.”

The Arial Black Kawasaki logo is still prominently featured and is unchanged from its old style. The updates come in the form of a black background and the company’s unmistakable Lime Green stripes that run the length of the logo, each coming with different thickness levels.

Kawasaki aims to make this new logo as distinctive as the old one. It’s not overly fancy, but the addition of the Lime Green color scheme does add a bit of flair that the brand is known for.

The company plans to roll out the new visual branding as early as this month, July 2015, in selected markets. The goal is to have the new logo prominently displayed in dealerships all over the world by the end of the year, in time for the company’s 50th anniversary in 2016.

The new logo is also just the first step in what appears to be an elaborate plan by Kawasaki to ring in its silver anniversary next year. More plans are expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months so be on the look out for that.

For now, though, it looks like we’re going to have to get used to Kawasaki’s new logo.

Continue reading to read more about Kawasaki's updated logo.

Why it matters

I’m always a proponent for elaborate celebrations, specifically when there’s a reason to celebrate something. Kawasaki’s 50th anniversary in the US falls under that category so yeah, I’m excited to see what the company has in store as it prepares to celebrate its silver anniversary in the Land of the Free.

The new logo is a good start. It’s a significant change to the company’s future business, but it’s not too overblown to the point that succeeding announcements will lose some of their shine because they’re not as important as the new logo.

I personally don’t know what Kawasaki has in store for this momentous occasion in the company’s history. I do know that the company knows how to throw a good party. That’s probably going to happen at some point in 2016, maybe even on March 1, 2016, the very date that Kawasaki first entered the US market back in 1966.

I think the company will also have a whole lot of promotions lined up, maybe even dealership programs that honors the company’s anniversary. I wouldn’t even be surprised if a “50th Anniversary” bike is released next year in the US. Actually, I’m confident that it’s going to happen at some point, even though I don’t know when that “some point” is going to be.

We all know how these types of celebrations so there’s no reason to believe that Kawasaki is going to keep its own anniversary muted. Consider the logo an appetizer of sorts as Kawasaki begins setting the table on all of its plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary.