Duke Energy’s new logo, unveiled Monday, aims to embody the company’s values and its future following a contentious merger with cross-state Progress Energy.

The red, forward-leaning “D” in place since 1997 will be replaced early next year with a logo in cooler blues and greens that reuses Progress’ stylized star.

“We wanted to capture the idea of forward motion and what energy means in the future,” said Duke chief communications officer Ginny Mackin. “The coloring is more in line with values, moving away from the more industrial look.”

Duke also announced new names for its Progress subsidiaries. Progress Energy Carolinas, which serves Eastern North Carolina, the Asheville area and parts of South Carolina, will become Duke Energy Progress next April.

The name was chosen last fall, Mackin said. She said it follows a legal requirement that two utilities operating separately in the same area, as Duke Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Carolinas do, have distinct names.

Progress Energy Florida will simply assume the Duke Energy name in April.

The new logo was designed in-house, Mackin said, and tested among employees and customers.

“People appreciated the fact that it appears to be a natural evolution from previous logos,” she said. It incorporates the “D” swoosh from the current logo, uses the same typeface and rotates the Progress star on its axis.

The logo’s blues and greens were chosen to symbolize commitment to sustainability, technology and energy efficiency, the company says.

Corporate logos are “a physical, tangible representation of what a company stands for,” Mackin said. Duke’s, she added, “is a unifier for our employees and a milestone for us as we count the first 100 days as a new company.

“Rather than looking back, we’re looking forward.”

Duke and Progress merged on July 2 after an 18-month approval process, creating the nation’s largest electric utility. The N.C. Utilities Commission and the state attorney general launched investigations, which continue, after Duke’s board forced out former Progress chief Bill Johnson as CEO of the combined companies.

The logo will appear on company signs, vehicles and in March 2013 in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky and in areas of the Carolinas – including Charlotte – that Duke served before the merger. It will appear in Florida and parts of the Carolinas served by pre-merger Progress the following month.

Henderson: 704-358-5051 Twitter: @bhender