How Starbucks Found Its Mythical Mermaid
Behind the Design is a series of sleek and concise videos about the design of everyday objects we take for granted. This episode tells the story about how a ...
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The design of this logo began in Seattle in 1971. With three university friends who really liked coffee. They also really liked the Herman Melville novel Moby Dick. So much so, they decided to name their company after Captain Ahab’s ship. But branding exec Terry Heckler decided Pequod coffee didn’t sound quite right. So they went with the name of the first-mate: Starbuck. Heckler then trawled through maritime books and found a 15th century woodcut of a two-tailed siren. Instead of luring sailors onto the rocks, this mythical mermaid would call people to come and grab a cup of coffee. Initially her chest was bare, but after some complaints Heckler redrew the design with long hair that covered her body. The logo also went from brown to green, a symbol of freshness and growth. In 2011,...
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The design of this logo began in Seattle in 1971. With three university friends who really liked coffee. They also really liked the Herman Melville novel Moby Dick. So much so, they decided to name their company after Captain Ahab’s ship. But branding exec Terry Heckler decided Pequod coffee didn’t sound quite right. So they went with the name of the first-mate: Starbuck. Heckler then trawled through maritime books and found a 15th century woodcut of a two-tailed siren. Instead of luring sailors onto the rocks, this mythical mermaid would call people to come and grab a cup of coffee. Initially her chest was bare, but after some complaints Heckler redrew the design with long hair that covered her body. The logo also went from brown to green, a symbol of freshness and growth. In 2011,...
