my coffee, myself

For some reason I am lacking a design-inspiration vibe today.  I can’t claim that our industry isn’t providing plenty of inspiration, but somehow it’s not feeling bloggable to me at the moment. Perhaps (shameless self-promotion plug coming) it’s because all of my energy has been going towards my new project, Coffee|Served Daily.

Last year, because doing this blog and a personal blog (Tour of No Regrets) wasn’t enough (I know, I know),  I embarked on Project 365, taking a photo a day for a year. It made me crazy and there was plenty of complaining. But with a little cheating, I finished it. And I realized that my favorite part was connecting with other people, being inspired and motivated by them, and seeing what was happening around the country, and the world.

I started to imagine an interactive blog, focused on coffee. Afterall, coffee is social and personal, it’s homey and it’s international, it’s beautiful and it’s ordinary. It’s the perfect connector.

Of course, I don’t go small on this kind of stuff, so I committed to 1000 cups, one photo at a time. And it’s working, on several levels. I have a lively blog, I’m paying closer attention to my coffee, I’m drinking better coffee, and I am taking photos almost every day.  My friends are sending me coffee photos, and even people I don’t know are contributing. I have new coffee friends and renewed caffeinated inspiration.  Coffee photos surprise me in my in box several times a day. They are of varying quality, but they all come with a story.

Some of my favorites, so far:

From Lana V., aka Lanamaniac.

From my friend (and talented designer) Kevin Cahill.

From Reina.

And finally, Coffee Gods, from my good friend, Leslie Flores.

I’m learning more, about coffee, the product and the process,  and connecting the dots of social media. And as a bonus, it’s great fun. I love the internet, and I love a good project. And of course, I really, really love coffee.

Come over and visit (see, it’s easy….right here). Better yet, bring a photo of your coffee with you. Would love to have you.

mindful by design | part two

Another piece from the studio…just a reminder that January is no time for hibernating.

moo cards (and new ones, too)

I’ve never been a fan of outsourced, gang printing and have always done my part to support the craft of printing, especially letterpress. My business card history includes letterpress, oversized, rounded corners, custom duplex stock, extra heavy stock…everything to make the cards as special and tactile as possible.  But I have to say, my last set of cards (radius corners with the line create something that matters on the back) never excited me, or anyone else.

I also realized that print just isn’t “fun” anymore.  We barely print, and when we do, it’s such a small, serious quantity.  Where’s the whimsy, the inspiration, the delight of print?

Last year I discovered Moo Cards, a British company that prints, really inexpensively, cards with individual backs. As many different backs as you like. And the cards come in three sizes…close to standard (a tad tall), narrow (mini cards) and square. They only print on two stocks, one with a matte laminate and one recycled. Normally I am not a fan of laminate, but the one they use looks and feels nice.  Did I mention they were inexpensive?

Inexpensive makes whimsy much more feasible.

I decided to give it a try and printed 11 of my photos, with the websites for two of my blogs on the back (this one and coffee|served daily, thanks for asking). They came this week, and I am 100% thrilled with the concept and 98% thrilled with the quality.

The photos printed much cleaner than they appear here. The color is awesome, front and back. The type does print a little heavy. I printed a set for my daughter last year and used the laminate, and tried the recycled stock for myself.  Honestly, I prefer the laminate. But all in all, I am really excited. Today I gave one person three (my dog’s ears, the bowl of cherries and the coffee cups).

I’m going to do more…next time the mini cards, and maybe even the stickers. I envision a bowl full of cards in the studio, like candy….maybe even with candy. Who says there is no fun in print anymore?

a new (generic) logo for starbucks

I can thank Starbucks for introducing me to the world of overpriced, generic, frou-frou coffee drinks. I’ve been weaning myself away for some time now, trying to stay loyal to the  seemingly more genuine Peet’s. (Except for Gingerbread Latte season, then I am seriously tempted.)

Love or hate them, you have to admire their merchandising chutzpah. They have turned coffee into an acceptable-to-any-demographic product, with a gift card appropriate for everyone on your list. They are the McDonalds of coffee houses….no matter where you are in the country—or the world—you know that the experience will be the same. The generic, pleasant, clean, coffee house experience.

So maybe the new logo does make sense.

Really, that’s all you’ve got?

My first thought when I saw the logo was….nothing. My second thought was, “wow, I hope they don’t actually have to use the logo anywhere.”

I miss the type. While not an example of typographic genius, it did establish the category. And it distracted us from the split tail/leg/fin girl, who on her own, is actually a little disturbing.

I read that they made the change because they are selling more than coffee (more here). According to the article, the values Starbucks wanted to represent with the new logo were genuine, thoughtful, expressive, optimistic and engaging. Yawn.

My confusion is why they don’t want to leverage the coffee brand as a point of differentiation. Or why they didn’t use a new color palette (and use lots of colors! vibrant! alive! active!)?

The new logo can represent anything…a seafood restaurant or a hair salon immediately come to mind. Do they really have enough equity in the siren (as she’s called) to remove the identifying type? Take it off a cup of coffee, and put the logo on a hat, or a bike jersey, or a decal….would you get it? Is it anything? Or anything you’d want to ponder?

Today I was in an outdoor shopping mall and walked by a Starbucks.  I peered in and wondered what the (many) folks in line felt about their experience. Because the brand is the experience, as we all know. I tried to define the brand as I was walking by, and all I could muster was “this is a warm, pleasant, clean place for consistency in coffee drinks.”

Their logo has never made much sense to me, and it’s never been a significant part of my experience, as a customer or a stockholder (yes, I’ve been there, too). But it did have some personality and a bit of “heritage”.  I appreciate the evolution of their brand, and I even kind of liked the “clunkiness” of it. Starbucks owns Seattle’s Best, also recently redesigned, also generic, but clean. That makes sense.

A generic mermaid. Not so much.

Happy to have a Peet’s around the corner.

P.S. I do have coffee on the brain. If you love coffee, check out my new blog, Coffee|Served Daily (1000 cups of coffee, one photo at a time). So far, it’s Starbucks-free.