The logo made its official debut today on Starbuck’s 40th birthday.
There was a sneak peak of the newly designed Starbucks logo a couple months ago and there was quite an uproar in social media land. Numerous tweets and blogs exclaimed their distaste for the new logo calling it Gap-like branding mishap.
So, am I the only person in America who doesn’t mind this new logo?
From a branding standpoint, I don’t see the huge deal with the refreshment of the logo. I like it. It is still easily recognizable and is not a radical departure from the previous. It is clean and very simple. It feels more modern and engaging to me.
There is nothing wrong with a brand updating their logo. It is important to refresh a logo every once and a while to keep it current.
Starbucks “old” logo.
Starbucks is an iconic brand recognized throughout the world. There are 16,858 locations worldwide (with 5,727 locations outside of the US.) I think removing Starbucks and Coffee makes it more global and doesn’t necessarily dilute the brand. Starbucks is more than just coffee these days and this logo allows them to be more flexible in the direction of their offerings.
It all comes down to this: when I showed the new logo to my 4 year old son and he said, “Starbucks!” Instant recognition. And isn’t that what every brand wants?
I agree with you. This new logo represents a freshening. To the average consumer nothing has changed. This doesn't impact the brand's viability at all. It is essentially the same logo sending the same message.
Those in an uproar should go back and look at the Starbucks logo from 20 years ago. Should they have stuck with the original breast-bearing mermaid? Apple and Nike (Among others) have used their graphic with no text to send a powerful message.
I'm fine with this move by Starbucks.