Wal-Mart’s logo of 17 years is gone. The sharp, uppercase letters and the pointy star that served as a hyphen have been replaced by a new logo that includes rounded, lowercase characters. The star has been replaced by a symbol that resembles a sunburst or flower and appears after the “Walmart” name. Wal-Mart stores officially unveiled the new logo on June 30.

The updated logo made its start online on July 1, although, the old logo still appears on the site of Wal-Mart’s parent company. The new logo’s debut coincides with CEO H. Lee Scott’s goal of transforming Wal-Mart into a more environmentally friendly corporation. Analysts feel that the new sunburst logo seems to say that the company is more eco-aware. Over the past two years, Wal-Mart has increasingly offered sustainable packaging and products.

Some observers see the new logo as a sign that the retailer might becoming more original as the previous star graphic was seen as a generic symbol. The new typeface breaks the company’s 46-year tradition of using bold capital letters for friendlier lowercase in an attempt to recast itself as a kinder, gentler company.

Tags: logo design, typeface

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