Formerly the president of North American operations for the Starbucks chain, John B. Richards has built up a multi-decade career distinguished by service in executive roles in major lifestyle, travel, and healthcare brands. His expertise as a CEO and board member has led to successes such as Starbucks’ development into a nationwide brand with revenues that soared from $400 million to $2.5 billion over three years. Today, John B. Richards serves at the head of the New England Consulting Group as its principal and managing director.
The familiar green “mermaid” Starbucks logo itself was recently back in the news after a Fast Company magazine article pointed out a little-noticed fact: The mermaid’s face is slightly asymmetrical. While one might assume that perfect symmetry is key to successful design, in this case, the asymmetry is a deliberate part of maintaining brand identity.
When designers were working on a re-engineering of the logo in 2011, they found that giving the Starbucks mascot a perfectly symmetrical face actually created a remote, un-human appearance. After the insight, the designers added a few pixels to make the shadow running down the right side of the mascot’s nose longer than that on the left, creating a more approachable - and more attractive - look.
The mermaid has symbolized Starbucks from the company’s beginning in 1971. Seattle-based Starbucks derived the image from a vintage book on the sea.