LogoLounge 5

14

LogoLounge 5

Project

Client

Design Firm

When most large companies get a new logo or rebrand, it’s primarily a

matter of interest for their own staff, and secondarily, for their customers.

On the third tier, perhaps, is the design press and the design community.

But usually, it isn’t national or international news.

Word of Walmart’s rebranding sparked an entirely different reaction. Its

new logo—called the “spark”—was an overnight sensation. The Internet,

national news services, newspapers, and magazines covered the new

mark. Everyone, it seemed, was wondering: Where would Wal-Mart—now

Walmart—go next?

As the leading retail chain in the United States, Walmart is bound to make

waves when it makes such a major decision. But the exceptional public

and press reaction had less to do with the news of the redesign than it did

with how it affected people personally. Some were unsure; others were

intrigued. And that’s exactly the connection Walmart hoped to convey

through the new identity: Affect people in a personal, one-on-one way. As

its new motto proclaims, “Saving people money so they can live better.”

“The key aspect of Walmart was stated in its previous motto: ‘Always low

prices. Always.’ Their purpose has always been to save people money.

But now the company wanted to move more toward the benefi t it gave

customers—the emotional benefi t,” says Su Mathews, senior partner with

Lippincott, the design offi ce who worked with Walmart for nearly two years

to develop the new identity, brand positioning, and the store environment

that supports both.

When the chain was founded in 1962, Walmart was a fi ve-and-dime store

serving rural areas. It offered the least expensive goods. Today, with almost

7,400 stores in the United States and abroad, it has enormous buying clout

and a solid understanding of its current and soon-to-be customers. It offers

everything from car repair, jewelry, and groceries to gasoline, goldfi sh, and

electronics. A customer can run in for a pack of gum or an enormous fl at-

screen TV and be relatively certain that the price will be the best around.

If customers save money, and their shopping experience is clean, simple,

and quick, the company reasons, their lives will be made easier. Saving

Top: Walmart’s new identity contains a new word mark—minus

the hyphen—and a new logo, called “the spark.” Lippincott was

the design offi ce that worked with Walmart for nearly two years to

develop the new identity, brand positioning, and the store environ-

ment that supports both.

Above: Walmart’s old logo was familiar to shoppers, but it did not

have the friendly, customer-service-centered feel that its manage-

ment wanted to communicate. The old star symbol also was not

particularly ownable. In fact, many other retail stores use stars in

their identities.

Now the company wanted to move more

toward the benefit it gave customers

—

the

emotional benefit

Corporate Identity Redesign

Walmart

Lippincott

A limited edition, hardcover brand book explains the history and

evolution of the company, again using the new identity in its design.

TEXT

Black

(Provision RP) Logo Lounge 5

D209-128 / 4275 1st proof1st proof

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