In light of Starbucks choosing to update their logo on their cups for their 40th anniversary by streamlining and isolating the mark and ditching the name to join the ranks of iconic brands Nike and Apple. Rather than get angry, I thought I would give it my (tongue firmly in cheek) take on what I think would be the next logical evolution of the iconic brandmark.

Original image from Starbucks

My take on the change as a designer, I think I would have explored a containing ring around the mark, and maybe even tried experimenting with size and orientation (which I would assume was part of their internal process), but I take my hat off to them for making a gutsy decision to take the next step and elevate the brand above being just about “coffee”. I think that removing the concentric ring, takes it out of the crest-style and negates the need to let it stand in isolation. I think they could have had a little more fun with it. But I also understand their desire to not mess too much more with the equity in the existing imagery. Would love to see the stages of exploration that they went through to arrive at their final design.

My take on adding concentric ring outside logo. Just had to see what it would look like

Fellow designers, don’t be too critical of my execution, this was just meant to be a quick, five-minute diversion that like all jobs that take three times longer than planned, turned out to take 15 minutes. So, there are nuances of curves that I would normally take more pains to smooth, etc. Also, the fact that by focusing on just the face, I realize that several other key elements to establishing the iconography are missing, notably the star-crown, hair and mermaidish apparitions of the siren. In hindsight, and if I had the time to indulge, I would have added at least two other steps in the evolutionary chain showing a more gradual reduction. The goal here was getting it to it’s minimal essence—actually, more like past it.

I think I’ll go put another pot of coffee on. And, get back to werk.

After experiencing tremendous growth and unparalleled success as a dynamic start-up in the affiliate marketing management industry, JEB Commerce – Affiliate Program Manangement realized their logo, while professional looking, was more fitting for a business in its infancy than the maturing powerhouse it was becoming and the respected leader in their industry they were aiming to attain. Even as a relatively new player, they had already amassed an impressive client list that included brands like: Elance, Ligonier Ministries, philosphy, OfficeFrog to name just a few as well as successful experience working with brands such as Dean & Deluca and Zappos.com.

After trying an online crowd-sourcing logo design solution and being less-than-impressed with the submissions, JEB Commerce decided to approach Whitestone Design Werks to come up with a design for a new logo in order to refresh and reposition their brand. What Jamie Birch, owner of JEB Commerce thought was a simple request to design a logo, turned into an education about the difference between “just a logo” and what a well-thought out and designed identity system was and how it was crucial for developing JEB Commerce’s position as not just a well-respected brand but an authoritative, leading brand in their space.

After lamenting to Jamie (more like whining—until Jamie told me to man up) about how common a misunderstanding it is among small to medium-sized business owners about the fact that while a simple logo does become an identity by default, it is much different to have a logo deliberately designed to be applied into an identity system than to just have a logo that has been designed in a white box that you then take to a printer, web developer or sign fabricator and allow them to interpret how it is applied based upon their whims (and questionable design abilities).

After arriving at an epiphany we hit upon the idea that documenting this process would be a helpful exercise to help other small business owners understand some of the issues involved with facing the maturing of their business and its growth, but recognizing that its now time to put some “big boy (or girl) pants (pant suit)” on, as it were, and take the opportunity to invest in their identity to help elevate their brand position in order to attain their business’ ultimate goals.

In the coming weeks, Jamie and I will be highlighting the process of going through a complete identity design overhaul for JEB Commerce. I will be posting the progress and will for the first time, grant access to what is normally only a client accessible area to the general public in order to view the comps online and even provide feedback in the process. However, we will reserve the right to ignore said feedback if we disagree.

Jamie, for his part in the process, will also be posting to the JEB Commerce blog with his thoughts and updates of the process along the way in order to help educate the multitudes of Affiliates that work with and follow JEB Commerce.

So, stay tuned for what I hope will be an educational process that just might open your eyes to the value of investing in a true identity system that has been thought-through and designed to communicate the essence of your brand and then can be applied to all your points of contact with your customers thereby elevating your brand to the level of respect and authority you have earned over the years, but are being held back by an immature identity.

I justified the purchase by telling myself that I could always keep my old Mach 3 handle and buy the cheaper replacement blades later and that if these 5-blades were all they were cracked up to be, then maybe I would be sold and suckered into the age-old “give away the handles and charge through the nose for the razors” scheme. Well, here I am a week later with a very smoothly shaved face (when I shave of course) and enjoying the luxurious closeness of new, smooth blades. But I have to say, that every time I shave with these blades, I keep thinking that they have finally maxed-out on what gimmicky advancement they can offer that would entice men to upgrade their choice of razors. I let my mind spin with the absurdity of adding blades similar to Intel doubling clock rates every 18 months (or whatever Moore’s law used to be) and came up with my 22-blade Gillette Infinitum concept.

I’m sold.

It could have been argued in the past, that Apple didn’t need to enter into the living room space, as its brand was a technology brand and not a lifestyle brand. Why not just continue to tweak the AppleTV in its current form and pair it up to any HDTV set? I think that will continue to be an option for Apple, but Apple has always been about controlling the whole widget, the whole ecosystem. As of today, this is the one area in Apple’s business model where it has left out such a vital component–and it’s the component that people look at and interact with perhaps more than any other branded technology item in their household besides their mobile phone–and Apple’s well on their way to having that covered pretty well (some may argue the refrigerator, but I’m having a hard time visualizing an Apple logo on that). But with the unparalleled success of the iPod and iPhone as well as changing the name from Apple Computers, Inc. to just Apple, Inc., Apple has already broadcast their intention (or recognition) of being a lifestyle brand.

Personally, I feel that its high-time that Apple introduced its design philosophy to the living rooms of America, and for those that can afford to, to be able to build their entertainment center around an Apple product as the whole widget, rather than just as a peripheral, and display it front and center. I believe that Apple has established a reputation of being able to deliver a dead-simple device that just works. Those that are inclined for a more affordable solution should still have the stand-alone AppleTV as an option–even if it requires a bit more technical savvy. Add to it, the open-source environment and if services like Boxee take off, Apple will soon own the living room and will have become a true juggernaut, rivaling Sony in the home electronics landscape.

Having it be announced this coming Tuesday, might be too much to hope for, as Apple has made it clear that the spotlight will be on notebooks. But there’s always the possibility that Apple may make an announcement in time for the holiday shopping season (assuming there’s still any money left in the world to spend by that time), but it seems to be more likely something that would be announced at Macworld, come next January (just in time for the Super Bowl!). We’ll have to wait and see.