At the beginning of the year, Starbucks changed its logo in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The company has grown and undergone many changes since its last logo alteration in 1992. The new logo reflects these changes and emphasizes how brand recognition has increased in the past ten years.
The new concept eliminates the text, and keeps only the famous Mermaid coloured in Starbucks Green. The company looked toward others like Nike and Apple, who recently dropped the names in their logos. They also looked at recent mistakes in logo redesigns, for example, Gap who introduced their new identity in late 2010, and got rid of it within a couple weeks because of the controversy it caused.
Since the recession, Howard Schultz took over as CEO of Starbucks and began implementing new ideas for the company. Since many people had switched from Starbucks, to lower priced coffee, or beverages they could make at home, the company introduced products like Via instant coffee, ice cream and coffee beans into grocery stores, where the products would be more convenient and affordable for consumers.
The new logo, not only creates a fresh look, but it also paves the way for future changes in the company. Coffee is most definitely not the only thing sold at the chain, and with the elimination of the word in the logo, they are not limited to beverages and can expand their product line to include many new items. The elimination of the words also works with the international market. The chain already has locations in over 50 countries, and the goal is to open hundreds more in the coming years.
The design of logos may not seem like the most important part of a company, but after looking at different examples, it can actually make quite a big different in terms of profit and expansion. The new Starbucks logo may seem to be just a new variation, or a celebration for its 40th year in business, but the logo is paving the way for the start of a new company. It’s expected that many of these changes will take place this Spring, so hopefully we’ll see some of those great new ideas soon!
