The meaning behind the Kumon logo

At Kumon, we’re often asked interesting questions about our logo: “How was it designed?”, “Where does the word ‘Kumon’ come from?”, and sometimes – “Is that a sad face in the ‘O’ of Kumon?”!

The Kumon logo carries a lot of meaning and in fact, all parts of it express the values that are important to our company and everyone who works at Kumon. If you’re curious to know more about the significance of the Kumon logo, read on.


The expression on the face in the ‘O’ of Kumon
The face is widely recognised all over the world as the most distinguishing and interesting feature of the Kumon logo. It is in fact called the ‘Thinking Face’.

A key feature of the Kumon Method of Learning is that it encourages students to work out answers for themselves, which helps them become confident self-learners. Solving problems independently requires deep thinking. The face in the ‘O’ therefore represents the expression of our Kumon students around the world who are thinking deeply, engaged, learning, and growing.

Similarly, the Thinking Face also represents the faces of all the Kumon staff. Everyone who is involved with Kumon – Instructors and Associates alike – has a mutual desire to support students, learn from children, and to keep developing themselves. Kumon Instructors, for example, are always thinking to themselves, “How can I help this child progress?”

The blue colour
The iconic ‘Kumon blue’ colour of the logo represents the sky that stretches across the world. Did you know that over 3.5 million children in more than 50 different countries study Kumon? The blue colour reminds us of all the children around the planet who are learning and growing through the Kumon Maths and English Programmes.

The colour blue is traditionally associated with intelligence, wisdom, and honesty, adding further meaning to our logo’s design.

The word ‘Kumon’
Kumon gets its name from the founder of the Kumon Method of Learning, Toru Kumon, who was a maths teacher in Japan in the 1950s. When he discovered that his son, Takeshi, was struggling with maths at school, Toru started creating worksheets and handmade booklets for him to complete at home every day. Word got around and soon, friends and neighbours were requesting booklets for their children too. And thus, the Kumon Method was born!


Established over 60 years ago, Kumon is now recognised as the world’s largest supplementary education provider. In the UK and Ireland alone, around 630 dedicated Instructors proudly support children in their local communities become confident, successful learners via the Kumon Programmes. It’s no wonder then, that the Kumon logo has become such a recognisable symbol. And now, you can impress your family friends with your newfound knowledge of its meaning!