Starbucks infamous green logo

The Starbucks logo is considered one of the most recognized logos in the world. But what is it? Is it a mermaid, or is it a siren? The topic is debated in Starbucks stores across the globe, and technically, both sides are correct.

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous seductresses that were half-bird and half-woman and lived on an island surrounded by cliffs and rocks. They would seduce mariners with their enchanting music and song luring them to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island home. In later European folklore, the Sirens were portrayed as mermaid-like…half-fish and half-woman with the same penchant for killing sailors.

So how did this mythical mermaid become the double-tailed siren we now know as the Starbucks logo? Howard Schultz discusses the creation of the logo throughout his 1997 book, Pour Your Heart Into It. Below are excepts that provide the rationale behind the evolving look of the Starbucks siren:
 

  Norse woodcut art                     First Starbucks logo 1971   

“Terry [Heckler]…pored over old marine books until he came up with a logo based on an old sixteenth-century Norse woodcut: a two-tailed mermaid, or siren, encircled by the store’s original name, Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice. That early siren, bared-breasted and Rubenesque, was supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself.”
 

  Il Giornarle logo 1986-1987

After failing to convince the original owners of Starbucks to serve espresso beverages, Schultz raised the seed capital to open his own espresso café, Il Giornale in 1986. “Our logo reflected the emphasis on speed. The Il Giornale name was inscribed in a green circle that surrounded a head of Mercury, the swift messenger god.”

  Starbucks and Il Giornale logo
  hybrid 1987-1992

In August 1987, the two remaining original owners of Starbucks sold their six stores, roasting plant and Starbucks name to Schultz. “To symbolize the melding of the two companies and two cultures, Terry came up with a design that merged the two logos. We kept the Starbucks siren with her starred crown, but made her more contemporary. We dropped the tradition-bound brown, and changed the logo’s color to Il Giornale’s more affirming green.”

  Current logo 1992-present

The hybrid logo also became more modest with her wavy hair covering up her bare breasts, but the split-tailed mermaid was still a little too risqué for some folks. So in 1992, Terry revisited the design with Doug Fast and created the logo we see today. They cropped the siren so that only a hint of her tails was visible, and she lost her prominent navel.

  Retro-style logo for promotion

The original brown siren did make a re-appearance for a brief time in 2006 to celebrate Starbucks 35th anniversary, and then again in 2008 to honor Starbucks coffee heritage. Even though the siren had her breasts covered in the retro-style logo, a Christian group, The Resistance, based in San Diego called for a national boycott. The new image “has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute,” Mark Dice, founder of the group said in a press release.
 

Well – hopefully, The Resistance won’t be visiting the original Starbucks store in the Pike Place Market any time soon. The original siren proudly hangs outside the store’s front door in all her bare-breasted, two-tailed glory.

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For more Starbucks 101, visit:

• What is a barista?
• How do I order a beverage?
• What is espresso?