WAL☆ MART ➜ Walmart✽
The old Walmart logo, used in their
marketing media or most famously as signage for their storefront, is an example
of cold typography. The old logo is set
in capital letters with a sans-serif modern typeface. It is in a dark blue,
with a five-pointed star used as a hyphen. Generally, Walmart is seen as a
lower-end department store. Because of their affordable goods, they have the
negative image of appealing to poorer people. They are also the prime example
when one imagines a faceless, unpersonable mega-corporation, the standard bearer
for unbridled capitalism. This is reflected in their old
logo. It is cold because of the deep blue color, of the capital letters with a
very tight kerning. Even the registration mark adds to the cold corporative feel
of the logo.
In 2008, Walmart tried to redefine
their image. In this period, people were made more and more aware of the
problems of rampant capitalism and corporatism. As a result, Walmart wanted to
have a warmer image. The new logo is in lower-case letters, in an almost pastel
blue. The corners of the typeface (resembling Myriad Pro Bold) are modified to
be rounded. The star becomes rounded and less aggressive, and adds warm yellow
to the logo.
I think these examples show us how elements of typography are interpreted in an almost instinctive way. Why do upper-case words look loud, as if they're shouted? Do we like round corners because they look softer to the touch?
I think these examples show us how elements of typography are interpreted in an almost instinctive way. Why do upper-case words look loud, as if they're shouted? Do we like round corners because they look softer to the touch?