Ah the ever-changing Starbucks logo. While I don't see this as a disaster, I think it is an interesting look at the evolution of the company and the brand itself. As a kid, my dad owned a couple of coffee stands--drive through espresso joints on the side of the road--in Seattle. I'm familiar with the culture there and Starbucks was obviously there from the beginning. There are many, many, many small coffee shops in Seattle, all serving above par espresso, and Starbucks is a bit of a joke, even if people still go there. I think this attitude comes from the fact that it started out like the rest of the small coffee shops, but it morphed into a commercial giant, smashing competition in cities where there isn't the coffee industry that there is in Seattle, and spreading to other countries that probably had no idea they needed espresso.
When I look at the first logo, it represents to me the kind of thing that would have been produced for a small coffee shop in Seattle. It's a little off the wall and wacky. Then we see it change to a more commercialized (and perhaps the least successful of the logos) version, followed by the one I was the most familiar with growing up. I like this logo, but I do think the newest logo is the most streamlined, clean, and simple. While it no longer reflects the company's Seattle roots, it is appropriate for what the company has become--a nationally recognized chain. They don't even need the words anymore, just the streamlined symbol and the color green.
No comments:
Post a Comment