Bold New Starbucks Logo

It's a new year that will be full of new things, from cool movies, to newly offensive but amazingly addictive music, a kazillion more mobile apps, an annoyingly vast selection of tablets, re-thunk e-messaging, the highly anticipated mobile e-wallet, and so on. 

To start the year, however, this post is not focussed on a new trend, or a cool piece of technology, or the latest web site that will add 10 minutes of web-time to my day and still manage to make my life easier (yeah, right). No, this post is about design. Or, rather, the redesign of what has become in the opinions of many, an American icon. 

It's a preview of the new Starbucks logo. And, well, I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

To start, I am a Starbucks man. I don't really like 'other popular coffee shops'. Yeah, I said it. Their coffee is typically crappy, and the environment is not worth suffering the time I spend in line. If someone doesn't like Starbucks coffee, I generally think they are a wussy. I think if my Grandma drank Starbucks, she would've said, 'It's strong and it'll put hair on your chest!' That hasn't really happened in abundance for me yet, but I still agree, it's strong and I like it. 

Anyway, the new logo is, at first glance, a bit weak to me, but at the same time, it's very bold. Let me explain. As you can see, there is no thick, strong black and green border surrounding what they call Siren (the half-naked mermaid-esque chick). This makes it visually weaker. But they've also totally removed the company name and what they offer, 'Starbucks Coffee'. This makes it bold. 

I understand the logic. 'We offer more than coffee, so why limited ourselves to being associated with just that product?' Agreed. But does Starbucks think they are so widely recognized in America and in the world that they can change their logo to eliminate any point of reference to what they sell? And for those who have never really paid attention to the mermaid icon, will people know who they are? This is to say that Starbucks is not just an industry icon, or an American icon even, but instead a globally iconic brand. That puts them in a class with Nike's Swoosh, McDonald's Golden Arches, and Apple's, well, Apple. 

That is a bold move. And I can't help but think about the Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Meaning, it could backfire if it's overused and not supported, especially in new markets, with a clear cut name and offering. 

Or, as I'm sure Starbucks is thinking, after selling a billion coffees and teas in this new cup, people will get the idea. 

What do you think? Is Starbucks powerful enough to pull this off? Will they have to revert to a modified version of the logo in new markets or where their brand recognition is low? ~ p