MIRANT: Southern Energy is now Mirant

A use of identity, by a leader

New: Mirant name and logo

Launched: January 22, 2001

Story in brief:
The curiously named Southern Company is spinning out the big power company it created in 1992, but not the Southern Energy name (wrong, in any event, for a global player).

"Mirant" is said to derive form the Latin 'mire' as in 'admire,' not as in muck. Obviously we're running out of Latin words too.

Credits:
C.E.O. - S. Marce Fuller
Naming and identity design - Siegelgale, formerly Siegel & Gale

First Impressions:
Name: six letters, two syllables, pretty good... an empty vessel, but for a power provider perhaps a little soft.

Logo: Nice clean wordmark with a symbol that looks like a cutting edge, and I'd leave it at that. People who rationalize logos too much can sound a little silly. (In this case, the two triangles were said to represent operations and marketing competences, but also three triangles were seen to represent the Americas, Europe and Asia. Their transparency was elsewhere said to reflect the corporate vision, "We see the opportunity to change the world with our energy." Nice slogan, but give the logo a break.)