Warmer, Fuzzier: The Refreshed Logo

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/weekinreview/31marsh.html?_r=1&hp

by dbul • 17 years ago

23 10 17 years ago

J_McQuade• 17 years ago

Given the title, I was almost certain that this would be an article about Haskell!

philwelch2• 17 years ago

They can spend millions of dollars making Wal-Mart's logo look friendlier, but when you walk in the store, it's plain to see that the actual company is just the same. This reminds me of Joel's "how many lies can you find a direct mail piece?"

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000019.html

The logo might claim Wal-Mart is friendly and likable but unless Wal-Mart actually becomes friendly and likable it's just wasted money.

natrius2• 17 years ago

The redesigned Walmarts are actually far more pleasant to shop in. It's been a while since I've been in one, so I forgot exactly what they changed. It was definitely less suffocating and the signs were prettier. Who needs good business practices when you have good typography?

In any case, I don't really buy into the whole "Walmart is pure evil" thing. It's cute how some enlightened cities do everything they can to prevent them from moving in so small businesses aren't hurt, then they wonder why their lower income residents are doing so poorly. I think independent retailers are great and I support them whenever I can, but they're clearly more expensive, and it's silly for the people who can afford to have a conscience to force that choice on those who can't.

tripngroove• 17 years ago

Anyone who is interested in the debate surrounding Walmart and how it impacts local and global economies should check out this PBS documentary.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/

Of particular interest is the section called "Muscling Manufacturers", which shows how the sheer scale of their operation gives them the power to force local manufacturing jobs overseas, effectively creating these "lower income residents" that natrius mentions above.

Scale is often a topic of discussion for hackers; to see how some of the same principles apply to a huge retail corporation is mind-blowing. Definitely worth a watch, imo.

philwelch2• 17 years ago

"In any case, I don't really buy into the whole "Walmart is pure evil" thing."

I don't either, I just find them unpleasant.

bingaman_• 17 years ago

Lipstick on pigs. The most interesting one is the last one in the slideshow, Blackwater changed their name to Xe. It doesn't change the fact that they are mercenary soldiers.

Elcho• 17 years ago

Companies rebrand/change their logo all the time, where in the article does it provide data comparing the rate of change of company names in down times vs the good times?

This is just fitting a convenient 'depression 2.0' story to some logo redesigns; if this happened two years ago, the same redesigns would be interpreted entirely differently, perhaps it would be about 'increasing market share in a more globalized world'.

tptacek2• 17 years ago

If you liked this article, the Brand New blog at

   http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/

is more insightful on a typical day, and tries less hard to fit into the NYT's trend stories about the economy and the environment.

Warmer, Fuzzier: The Refreshed Logo

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