Starbucks

About the Starbucks Logo

About Starbucks

Starbucks was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker, who opened a small shop selling whole coffee beans at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. The name comes from Starbuck, the first mate in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, a nod to the maritime coffee trade. After Howard Schultz acquired the company in 1987 and introduced Italian-style espresso bars, Starbucks grew into the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, with more than 38,000 locations around the globe.

Logo Meaning and History

The Starbucks mark is a twin-tailed siren, inspired by a Norse woodcut discovered by the brand’s first designer, Terry Heckler. In mythology, sirens lured sailors with irresistible songs, and the founders saw a perfect metaphor: coffee itself is an irresistible call. The siren also honors Seattle’s seafaring heritage and the port through which coffee beans arrived. She is the brand’s soul, appearing on every cup and storefront.

Evolution

• 1971 – The original logo: a bare-breasted two-tailed siren in coffee brown, ringed by the words “Starbucks Coffee Tea Spices.”
• 1987 – After Schultz’s acquisition, brown becomes green, her hair covers her chest, and the ring reads “Starbucks Coffee.”
• 1992 – The logo is cropped to a close-up of the siren’s face; the lower body and navel disappear.
• 2011 – For the 40th anniversary, the outer ring and wordmark are removed entirely; the siren stands alone, so iconic she needs no name.

Colors and Font

The signature Starbucks Green (#00704A) conveys growth, freshness, and the brand’s coffeehouse warmth, paired with clean white. The original brown (#6B3A2A) reflected the coffee bean itself. The modern mark uses a custom illustration rather than a typeface, while Starbucks’ wordmark materials use a custom geometric sans-serif adapted from the brand’s lettering.

Download the Starbucks logo for free in vector (SVG) or PNG format.