|
Friday, 28 January 2011 16:19 |
 And you thought it was just a coffee shop
Starbucks is evolving its logo yet again to remove the name and product from its design.
The move will allow it to move more easily into other products, such as social media-led initiatives.
Whether it is wise to actually remove the Starbucks name from the logo remains to be seen but it is the wave of protests from angry coffee drinkers who are resistant to change that is the most interesting part of the story for this is another example of “crowdsourcing”.
Crowdsourcing is the name that is given to online commenting and opinion seeking on the web. Recent high profile examples include the outcry when Gap tried to change its logo and the fiasco over the Tropicana orange carton design change.
These were moves that prompted a wide response from people anxious to see the logo remain the same. Gap hurriedly changed back and the crowd was happy. Tropicana, owned by PepsiCo Americas Beverages also bowed to public opinion and brought back the orange with a straw. Both companies were stunned that people had such strong opinions.
Even a company like Starbucks, which has made a name out of being different and at the forefront of social change, realizes it has to tread carefully.
A week before the new logo launch, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz released an online video explaining in detail the symbolism and intricacies of the brand’s new image. His webcast argued that the change was necessary because the brand would now represent a whole range of products. He said: “We’ve allowed [the siren] to come out of the circle in a way that gives us the freedom and flexibility to think beyond coffee.”
But clearly this was not enough to convince the hard drinkers.
Let the crowd decide
Crowdsourcing can also be used to actually create a design
A recent conference in Toronto examined the potential of opening up the design process to commentary, input, even ideas, through social media and the internet and how this idea was rapidly making its mark on the formerly exclusive world of design.
Ten of the design world’s heavy hitters, including Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland, Matthias Hollwich of the influential website Architizer.com, and Bruce Mau Design CEO Hunter Tura discusses whether “tapping talent from the crowd” could replace, or at least contribute to the existing design process, especially as contributors to social change and humanitarian projects, but also for commercial design.
While on the face of it, this may lead to lower advertising and marketing costs for companies prepared to use the “crowdsourcing” approach, it is fraught with dangers. Anyone who has worked on branding and suffered from “chairman’s wife” comments will know what this means. There is nothing more frustrating than a client coming back with suggested changes made by those who know naff all about design. Now multiply that by several thousands, and you see the problem.
|
Positive impact of the feedback huddle