Snippet: Genius Bar Logos Being Removed ☇

Gary Allen for ifo Apple Store:

An original and significant element of Apple’s retail stores is disappearing. Over the past month workers have been removing the “atom” symbol that has pinpointed the Genius Bars since the first store opened in 2001, and they are replacing it with wall graphics to match those recently installed in back-lit wall displays. The Corte Madera (N. Calif.) store was the latest to make the change. The symbol was based on the chemistry depiction of an atom, meant to signify “genius.”

I still enjoy the aesthetic of the newest Apple Stores, and how some locations have been worked into old construction, but I’ll be sad to see this remnant from the early days go, especially when the original stores had a bit of a art gallery or museum feel. The store near me is still a very early one with the glass dividers and wood floors, so maybe the Genius Bar sign will also be forgotten and left there.

That being said, some feel Genius Bar/Genius position names need to go, and I don’t disagree with that—I’m just not sure what Apple could switch to instead.