I’m a graphic designer, therefore I’m a coffee addict. I wasn’t always, but I’ve become one in the last few years. I’ve gotten a bit snootier and prefer the fancy pants blends of small roasters over the corporate conglomerates, I grind my beans fresh for each cup and I can’t stomach the cheap stuff. But, I do love me some Starbucks on occasion. Nothing beats the rich deliciousness of a peppermint mocha. What I love even more about the green mermaid, though, is the innovative packaging design and great branding behind the corporate giant.
Whether you’re a fan or not or you think they’re evil for pushing out all the neighborhood shops, Starbucks is responsible for some seriously awesome packaging design and runaway brand success.
I went there the other morning and was noticing, yet again, how lovely their new line of packaging is. They redesigned it in 2013, and it was such a vast improvement on the previous, white, bland design, it deserves a shout out. I love how the foil bags go from a light honey color to a deep purple to coincide with the roasts. I enjoy how consistent the branding is, but that all the individual roasts have their own unique illustrations and typography. I like that there’s a story to go with each roast and a description of it. All in all, an A-plus effort.
Check out this interview with the lead packaging designers, Mike Peck and Steve Murray on The Dieline from 2013.
This was sign was used to describe one of their blends. I admit I took the photo of it because I loved the ampersand they used.
The Kenyan and Ethiopian roast bags are the light, caramel color since they’re lighter roast. I love the Kenya one since it has an elephant and reminds me of there.
The darker French and Italian roasts have the really dark bag design. I love the Italian bag—it totally reminds me of Roman Holiday with the vespa and Art Deco type.
Not a huge fan of the font on the Sumatra blend, but I do love the tiger illustration.
Starbucks travel tumblers are my favorite! They’re so clean and simple and use cool materials.
I don’t like the mugs with the straws, because I tend to spill things, but I’m mad about this green on green action with this tumbler.
It always bums me out that you have to buy a gift card to get one. I love the illustrations on them and want to collect them, but sadly it comes at a $5 minimum.
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