Strong corporate design can never be understated. It represents consumers’ visual associate with the company, gets seated in their memory and translates into value every time they make a brand association. And for companies that can succeed in creating a direct and strong connection between their corporate identity and their name, their brand experience or anything that describes the “who and what” they do, branding pay dirt has arrived.

Starbucks is one of those companies. And their most recent corporate logo shift is an interesting study in the brand principles I’ve described above at work.

According to an MSNBC article,

Starbucks leaders say the changes to the logo are in some ways a metaphor for the company dropping the boundaries of its own        business and growing into new areas. Marketing experts agree.

“The brand is now evolving to a point where the coffee association is too confining and restrictive,” said John Quelch, a marketing professor at Harvard Business School. “Starbucks is fundamentally selling an experience, but by no means is coffee the only part of the experience. It is important that they not have a logo that is too confining.”

Starbucks looked to companies like Nike Inc. and Apple Inc., which had earned the clout with consumers to drop the words from their logos. And it closely watched the missteps of others, such as Gap Inc., which launched a new logo in October only to withdraw it after harsh criticism by customers and others.

Branding is a big business for a reason. So the next time you need some big design with a small price tag, turn to Forge. We’re here for your design needs – large, small or anything in between.