In example, Starbucks. However you feel towards the company and their coffee, you have to admit they know how to market. We all know their cups, their signature green and their siren. In fact, we know their look so well that they didn't even include their name on their recently updated logo. That's the power of branding.Starbucks' use of branding doesn't stop at their logo and store fronts though. Starbucks has countless parts of their company that have to maintain their brand. Take Starbucks VIA, the company's hyped instant coffee. Look at the packaging. How to they maintain the feel of Starbucks as a whole while at the same time giving VIA it's own look? Well, to keep things consistent they have their logo on the package and keep the familiar cup shape and check boxes. But to set VIA apart they give it unique and eye-catching packaging, it's own color palette and a logotype. It's consistent, unique and feels right for the product.
Another, less hyped, example of Starbucks branding is their Black Apron Exclusives. This line is meant to be a "premium" collection of "rare and intriguing" exclusive coffees available in very limited amounts. This packaging just nails that exclusive feeling. It is uniquely beautiful, looks expensive, and oozes class and sophistication. The look is entirely different from VIA, but both brands are appropriate the the needs of that product and are excellent examples of design. If you want more information checkout http://gr.starbucks.com/en-US/_Worlds+Best+Coffee/_BAE+Detail+Pages/Black+Apron+Exclusives+Coffees.htm
There you have it. Take the inspiration and go. If you need some other good consistent brands you should check out Tea Forte and Apple (not that you don't know them already) .
There is huge power in branding and making a logo be so well recognized that it's doesn't even need a name attached to it anymore, like what Starbuck's has done. I didn't realize how much I see branding and how subtle it is. It sometimes can be overlooked and should not be ignored when designing a logo for a company. One has to think of all these things. I think that what's separates a good logo from another one is the branding aspect that it provides.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks is a great company and I agree that they do a great job with packaging. I really like the speciality coffee packages. The design is really interesting and there is a nice use of colors. My favorite part is the front part of the box that has a cut-out design.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks puts a lot of effort into branding and package design. Honestly, at first glance and without any background information, I wouldn't know that these two different lines of coffees came from Starbucks. Still, the packaging on both is very well done, and matches the product itself. One package is fun and implies that the coffee is quick and easy, yet high quality. The other is extremely elegant with the cut-out on the front and patterned package, which imply the "premium" nature of that line. In both cases, the type is very well done and ties the entire design together.
ReplyDeleteNot only does Starbucks complete the look with all of their products, but they have a similar look in all of their stores. You can go into almost any Starbucks and see much of the same decor and colors in all of them. This creates a since of familiarity and makes their customers more comfortable. When we see continuity between a company's products and stores, we feel a connection and it makes us want to use their products and come to their shops. This is something that Starbucks has mastered, and this is why they are very successful.
ReplyDeleteThere is little question that both of these packaging examples are well designed. I find the latter, though, to be a relatively weak example of branding on the part of Starbucks. The stylized, laser cut pattern of the packaging adds interest and plays to the exotic nature of the coffee it contains, but it doesn't read as a specifically "Starbucks" product to me right off the bat. Perhaps it's due to a lack of the infamous logo, but I also think that the bright color panels on the front of the boxes seem kind of incongruous compared to the deep, earthy neutral tones of other Starbucks products.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny how all my classes seem to be running together. In my principles of marketing class we have been talking about branding, and the funny thing is branding doesn't stop at design. Starbucks branding doesn't stop at the look of its products or the colors of their stores. Everything about Starbucks says luxury, quality and even self-indulgence. Their logo says this, their design says this and this is what their brand has come to symbolize.
ReplyDeleteConsistency is strong but gets boring. Of course you need the recognition a logo creates, but varying design between products seems like a no-brainer. It's interesting to see how Starbucks used two different color palettes for the two lines, but kept the same "coffee feel".
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at a Nike shoebox of mine that displays every Nike logo they have made for every line of shoes. There are so many... As companies expand and reach more people, variation is very important to not only differentiate the product but appeal to the consumer's eye.
I found both packaging designs equally engaging. However, I don't think the second packaging design quite reflects what Starbucks stands for. The first one gives off the feel of actually going to the coffee shop by using the the coffee cup shape and the same earthy tones. While the design of the second box is really interesting, it seems to have more of a fancy air than Starbucks really is.
ReplyDeleteI think it is impressive that while their products have a variety of designs, they are all still representative of starbucks and their overall feel. Also it is really impressive that they don't even have to use their name and yet their logo is still recognizable as theirs. I think starbucks and apple both do well at continuing to keep their products well designed, which seems to mean that continuous alterations are occurring, but event though updates of their logos and products our done, the same feel is portrayed within each new version.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about a logo I always think that the logo should be the first thing that you see on the packaging. But Starbucks does a great job at discretely placing their logo on their packaging. I like how Starbucks designed their packaging so that even if you did not see their logo, you could still know what company it belongs to.
ReplyDeleteConcerning their new logo, I think it is good that they decided to simplify it but I also dont know if it "pops" as much as the old design, that could also be because im just not use to it. Overall they do a great job at marketing their product.
I think that Starbucks logo works so well because it is simple and recognizable. The logos that I do not appeal to me are the ones that try to make things so complicated and therefore busy. I have learned and continue to learn that when designing a logo simple is always best. People do not want to have a figure out a logo. A logo works when a person sees it and identifies it with the company.
ReplyDeleteI have an even greater respect for what companies do with their branding after working on this project. Creating a logo is only a small - yet important - part of the packaging. The Starbucks logo is only on a corner of the packages of the coffee they sell, yet the package always fits the company and logo really well. Starbucks has done a beautiful job matching their high-quality coffee with high-quality packaging.
ReplyDeleteThis packaging and brand translation project was probably my favorite. I never realized how difficult it would be to create an identity using the logo. You have to apply the logo affectively and continuously to create an identity. There needs to be a sense of expected. Not boring, but I know if I walk into anthropologie things will be unique and colorful and a little bit on the crazier side. Continuity is more important than I realized. You want to surprise your audience/consumer and keep them interested, but not confuse them.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks is one of my favorite brands and I've always admired their control over their branding. No matter where I am - the US, Romania, London, Italy, or any country/airport anywhere in the world I know that I can walk into Starbucks and feel like I am back 'home'. The fact that Starbucks has been able to keep the 'Starbucks Experience' consistent despite having hundreds of international locations is a testament to the ingenuity of the company and their designers.
ReplyDeleteMmmm...Starbucks Via... :)
ReplyDeleteI bought their stuff at walmart purely because of the packaging.
AND, it was super good. But hey, it's Starbucks. Go with the iced coffee, it's delicious.
Something that Starbucks can do is break away from the typical "feel" of a packaging that companies seem to slip into. Not only do they consistently pump out fresh and awesome ideas with packaging and product design, but they do so with consistently different feels -- yet you know it's still Starbucks.
This company has done so well in embedding a belief/ideology of their company into the consumer market that whether they sold their product in the floral, expensive-looking, artistic Black Apron special or the sleek, modern, simple Via packaging, the consumer knows one thing, and one thing only -- theyre recieving Starbucks quality in a Starbucks package. That, my friends, is truly the mark of a successful company and designer -- being able to bring so many different new designs and looks to a company but still have the consistency of profit, income, gain, and consumer base. Starbucks is consistently creative, new, and different, while maintaining a single quality promise to their customers -- and we love them for it.