What Is the Pokémon Logo?
The Pokémon logo is the name POKÉMON in bulging yellow letters with a thick blue outline. Designer Chris Maple drew it in 1998 for the games' launch outside Japan.
Pokémon is the media franchise of games, cards and cartoons managed by The Pokémon Company of Tokyo. It is owned by Nintendo, Creatures and Game Freak. It began with the Game Boy games Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan on 27 February 1996.
Individual games, films and the trading card game add their own subtitles and badges under the main name. The yellow and blue wordmark is available as the Pokémon logo SVG.
Pokémon Logo Facts
| Designer | Chris Maple |
| Introduced | 1998 |
| Symbol | None; the name stands alone |
| Logo type | Wordmark: the name in yellow letters with a blue outline |
| Owner | The Pokémon Company, for Nintendo, Creatures and Game Freak |
What the Pokémon Logo Means
Pokémon is short for Pocket Monsters, the Japanese name of the original games, about catching creatures small enough to carry around. Creator Satoshi Tajiri's working title was Capsule Monsters, but that name could not be trademarked.
The accent over the E was added for the international release. Alfred R. Kahn suggested it to help English speakers say the name and to "give it a little flair".
Maple has said he cannot fully explain why Nintendo picked blue and yellow. He submitted colour tests and settled on the pair by feel, saying the combination had a certain "energy".
Pokémon Logo History
The Pokémon logo was made in one month in 1998, for the games' first launch outside Japan.
In Japan the games had been sold since 1996 as Pocket Monsters. When Nintendo prepared to bring Pokémon Red and Blue outside Japan, it needed a new logo. Earlier agencies it had tried had not produced one it liked.
In 1998 Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa met Maple at Nintendo's office in Redmond, Washington. Maple ran a small design business called Media Design.
The brief was tight:
- Deadline: ready for the E3 trade show in 1998, where Red and Blue were to be shown
- Time: one month, where Maple said a logo like this would normally take about six
- Materials: little more than paper and toys to work from
He presented several designs, and Nintendo picked the one closest to the logo used since. Maple told the story to IGN in 2025, 27 years later.
Pokémon and Nintendo
Pokémon is not a Nintendo brand alone: it is owned jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures. The three set up the company that became The Pokémon Company, founded on 23 April 1998 and given its name in October 2000. Compare the Nintendo logo, or the blocky Minecraft logo.
For more brands like Pokémon, browse our gaming logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed the Pokémon logo?
Chris Maple, a designer who ran a firm called Media Design, created it in 1998 at the request of Nintendo of America.
Why is there an accent on the E in Pokémon?
Alfred R. Kahn suggested it for the international release to help with pronunciation and to give the name a little flair.
What does Pokémon stand for?
Pocket Monsters, the full Japanese name of the original 1996 games.
Why is the Pokémon logo yellow and blue?
Maple tested several colours and chose yellow and blue by feel, saying the pair simply had a certain energy.