Starbucks' Logo and Branding
Try taking a walk in New York without bypassing a Starbucks. Seriously, try– I dare you! Starbucks coffeehouses are so ubiquitous this task would almost certainly be impossible. The truth is, this is not just a New York thing, I was just trying to make the point relevant. Starbucks is the largest coffee distributor in the world and exist all over cities across the country as well as a global expansion. Before getting to the company’s origin, branding and success, a closer look will be taken at the company’s most simple, unique and important graphic representation: the logo.
Even considering the relatively low level of advertising done by such a large company, the omnipresent storefronts and ubiquitous coffee cups have exposed us all to the logo countless times. While one would assume the logo designers had no idea how many people would eventually see their work, it is obvious a lot of thought went into its design. This is apparent not just in the elements included and their symbology which will be tackled later on, but also the placement of everything, all contributing to an overall balance.
The logo has undergone a few revisions since the original was released, but the basics remained consistent. In the original, as in the next version and the current version, the basic shape is circular with the company name surrounding an image in the center. Whether the image is that of a mermaid, a siren or something else is up for debate, but for now, the composition is our focus and the content will be discussed later. The original logo showed the mermaid/siren in its entirety, surrounded by concentric circles containing the name. This circular shape is seemingly placed atop a rectangle. The Law of Simplicity and the Law of Completeness suggest this is the case rather than the overall outline being comprised of simply one shape. It is uncertain whether they changed the logo to make it more simple, but whether or not it was their motivation, it was a solution they met. Reducing the complex shape to one of a circle reduces any extraneous elements and makes the logo more simple. The parsimonious approach reduces the outline to the simplest visual pattern– the primordial circle.
Although the original illustration of the mermaid/siren was replaced with a less complex line drawing, it remains the dominant item on ...
... middle of paper ...
...oo complex for anyone to make a simple connection between the logo and the company. Without the word “COFFEE” on the logo, one would have no idea what the company provided. Luckily for Starbucks, they do not have to worry about anyone not knowing what they produce. If starting from scratch, I might suggest the designers consider the elements that make the brand what it is and make that more a part of the logo. The green color begins to convey their environmental consciousness and the wavy hair symbolizes steam as stated earlier, but why not incorporate a coffee bean or a comfortable home environment? Maybe a coffee bean in a lounge chair? Better yet, let’s not fix anything since they have obviously done something right.
Sources:
Arnheim, R. (1982). Art and Visual Perception, A Psychology of the Creative Eye.
Becker, U. (1996). The Continuum Encyclopedia of Symbols.
Lehner, E & Lehner, J. (1969). A Fantastic Bestiary, Beasts and Monsters in Myth and Folklore.
Liungman, C.G. (1991). Dictionary of Symbols.
Starbucks: A Visual Cup O’ Joe, @issue. 1(1).
Tressider, T. (1997). Dictionary of Symbols, An Illustrated Guide to Traditional Images, Icons and Emblems.
Advertisements stand as a method of persuasion in order to sell a product. Starbucks, a high-quality coffee café was originally founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington as a coffee bean and ground retailer fine restaurants. The name, inspired by a character in the book Moby Dick, captures the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition and history of early coffee traders. By 1986, Starbucks had become a popular coffeehouse chain inspired by the romance of espresso bars in Milan, Italy. Starbucks claims their goal is to create a connection with the consumer. Starbuck’s advertisements engage and spark your emotions visually which in-turn evokes desires. In this advertisement from Starbucks, we see the coffee chain is promoting their seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte.
In the late 1960’s to mid-70’s the legal drinking age was 18 because the voting age of 21 was lowered to 18. However, in 1984 a bill was passed that every state in the United States was to change the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Although this is a highly controversial topic many young adults believe lowering the drinking age back to 18 is best because if they may vote at the age of 18 then, they should be allowed purchase alcoholic beverages. In an article “Should the U.S. lower its drinking age?” written by Brandon Griggs introduces the pros and cons of lowering the drinking age. Griggs explains two generations ago young adults didn’t have to worry much about getting caught drinking or buying their way out to purchase alcohol. Nowadays
Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown significant results in the prevention of accidents and death studies across the board. Accordingly, the MLDA should remain at the current age of twenty-one.
When looking at the drinking age in many nations, a trend of relatively young minimum legal drinking ages (MLDA) can be seen around the world. As it stands, all of America’s 50 states employ a MLDA of 21 making America one of only seven countries in the world to have a drinking age set at 21; the oldest age set as the minimum legal drinking age in the world. Where many of our friends in Europe are happily drinking away at 18, many here in America are left wondering why we don’t employ the same age requirement. Why is it that America has set the age so high as opposed to everyone else? How much more dangerous could drinking at 18 be as opposed to 21? The reason that the MLDA in America is so high is not because America is ignorant or controlling in nature but because setting the MLDA at 21 saves lives and encourages more responsible behavior. Lowering the MLDA in America back to 18 would only harm and endanger the health and well-being of the people of this nation and as that is the case, the MLDA should stay at 21.
...e minimum legal drinking age in the United States should remain at twenty-one years old. Since the National Legal Drinking Age Act was ratified, the consumption of liquor among minors has abated significantly. With the restriction in affect, the United States is definitely a safer place when it comes to alcohol use. Even though, the reduction of the drinking age would get rid of the taboo that surrounds alcohol which would result in fewer teens drinking just to be accepted by their peers, young adolescents now have a harder time getting access to alcohol due to the minimum legal drinking age resulting in less alcohol-affiliated problems and a decrease in damage to their bodies. Teens and alcohol are not a good mix so citizens of the United States should keep them separated as best as they can. By having a minimum age limit of twenty-one, that is a great way to do it.
The national minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of The United States is twenty-one and it is ineffective; therefore it should be lowered to eighteen. The minimum legal drinking age does not prevent underage consumption of alcohol. Lowering the age of consumption can possibly reduce the number of injuries do to underage drinking. The legal age of adulthood in the United States is eighteen, so all adults should be able to make their own decision to drink or not. “Although many believe that anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited from consuming alcohol in the United States, underage drinking is allowed in 29 states if done on private premises with parental consent, 25 states if for religious purposes, and 11 states if for educational purposes.” ("Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?").
Many young adults and college educators argue that the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) should be lowered but I disagree. I don’t think that lowering the legal drinking age would be a good idea because alcohol is one of the main causes of deaths among young adults and also affects their academic performance. Lowering the legal age of drinking will just be a huge mistake. The government should instead raise it higher than 21 or enforce the MLDA more.
Currently in the United States the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 21 years old. People everywhere constantly argue that this age should be lowered by a couple of years. However, lowering this age would have major societal impacts that many do not consider. This social issue is important because lowering the age is detrimental to the public’s health.
The debate of whether the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered or not has been around for many years even since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 raised the MLDA to age 21. Prior to that, the government has t...
“Should the drinking age be lowered?” has been debating for years. The history of the minimum legal age to drink alcohol can be traced all the way back to the end of Prohibition in 1933. Lawmakers at that time made the youngest age to consume alcohol to be 21. However, it had changed over the years. Between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the minimum legal drinking age to either 18, 19 or 20. It was due to the lowered required voting age from 21 to 18. When many scientific studies showed that the increasing traffic accidents and fatalities was due to people drinking at the age of 18 and 19 between 1979 and 1983, many of the states that had lowered the drinking age changed it back to 21. In 1984, all the changes had come to unification. The congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. The act punished every state that did not rise the minimum legal drinking age back up to 21. As a result, the legal drinking age has stood at 21 since that law was enacted. Since then, scholars have been arguing to lower the drinking age again.
Eleven percent of all alcohol in the United States is consumed by adolescents ages twelve to twenty. The legal age for alcohol consumption in the United States has been modified many times, but has stabilized to twenty-one. The minimum drinking age has been argued about for many centuries, however, the law has remained the same. The minimum drinking age in the United States should remain twenty-one.
Before we look at some of the perspectives of this issue, let us look at a little bit of history. The drinking age has fluctuated a lot over history and is still debated today. In 1933 after prohibition was repealed all most states set their drinking age at 21, however, this soon changed in the early 1970’s. Following the 26th amendment, which dropped the voting age to
There are many topics that arise throughout the case with Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Coffee is located worldwide and there are many different ways to look at this situation. The company offers a unique range of coffee, lattes, espressos, and café style drinks. The company intended to reach a specific target audience, but has ended up in many different markets and has been growing rapidly. Starbucks has greatly used the “youth appeal” strategy to gain entrance into new markets. However, such enthusiasm cannot be counted on indefinitely; other strategies are always in the works. Over time Starbucks has been able to acquire a solid brand reputation and has a world renowned company logo.
Starbucks is an American coffee company based in Seattle, it was founded in 1971. Starbucks use twin-tailed mermaid as their logo, the reason behind it is because, according to a greek mythology the twin-tailed mermaid used to seduce mariners into jumping out of the boat in to the water, it just simply means that it is irresistible. Today, Starbucks is one of the largest coffeehouse industry in the world. They provided high quality coffee, pastries and snacks. Regardless of its expensive price customers are still willing to pay for its quality.
Founded in 1971 at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices, as it was originally called, has been “brewing-up” its famous blends in over 43 countries, including the United States. Now called Starbucks Coffee Company, business isn’t just about the coffee and tea anymore. Starbucks has its own line of bottled water, handcrafted beverages, fresh food, entertainment, merchandise and a Starbucks Card. The company has received numerous awards for their outstanding business practices. Fortune Magazine has ranked them as one of “The Best 100 Companies to Work For” in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2008 (Starbucks, 2008). The Starbucks Experience provides consumers and the general public a direct line a of business communication. From friendly baristas to press releases from CEO Howard Schultz, Starbucks keeps its “partners” informed.