Starbucks' New Logo

An article on Businessweek.com recently discussed the changes being made to Starbucks. The article focuses on Starbucks' logo change, speaking about the brown mermaid as a messenger for Howard Schultz. The author tosses around everything from the color to the lack of consistency in going back to an old logo twice in the last three years.

What I found most interesting is that Starbucks hasn't actually really gone back. The original mermaid had her breasts uncovered, but complaints about the nude logo's reappearance in 2006 made Starbucks produce a version where she is covered with her own hair, a la Lady Godiva.

I think that if I were the designer (and I say this with no design knowledge) I would have done it a bit differently. I think that Brian Collins, who was interviewed for this article, has a good point when he says that the logo somehow looks less Italian now that it isn't green. I also agree that the brown is a bit murky looking and that Starbucks' shade of green is so well known that it could hardly be used for any other brand.

With that in mind, I think they should have used the original woodcut but done it in Starbucks green. That way, Starbucks could make a nod to the past while showing their customers that they are truly future focused; Starbucks could go back to their core without losing the past twenty years of progress.