starbucks and classart 113
Assemblages: Material and Immaterial Forms
The Starbucks coffee shop is an assemblage, a networked association of material and immaterial forms. The material forms include the coffee shop itself. From the furniture choice to placement of artwork, each Starbucks coffeehouse is tailored specifically to the community around it, while maintaining the general design. The immaterial form is the Starbucks branded experience. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, sought to create a consumer experience based on emotional connection. The immaterial Starbucks world is based on five strategic points—“handcrafted, artistic, sophisticated, human, and enduring”. The material and immaterial forms interact with one another synergistically.
The Starbucks coffee shop, or material form, creates a space in which the branded Starbucks experience, or immaterial form, can be inhabited. The brand plays on human need, a process in which the consumer buys their way into the Starbucks world. Each Starbucks store is designed to provide “a welcoming, inviting and familiar place for people to connect”. Starbucks has reshaped the coffeehouse norm in the US by making the coffeehouse a social space in which people interact. “One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection”. The material store design, from the carefully chosen furniture to the smooth jazz music, provides a space for the immaterial Starbucks experience to thrive.
The Starbucks coffee shop, or material form, creates a space in which the branded Starbucks experience, or immaterial form, can be inhabited. The brand plays on human need, a process in which the consumer buys their way into the Starbucks world. Each Starbucks store is designed to provide “a welcoming, inviting and familiar place for people to connect”. Starbucks has reshaped the coffeehouse norm in the US by making the coffeehouse a social space in which people interact. “One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection”. The material store design, from the carefully chosen furniture to the smooth jazz music, provides a space for the immaterial Starbucks experience to thrive.
Innovation: Adoption, not invention
Professor Shanks argues, “The story of innovation in human history is one of adoption, not invention”. This is a key concept presented in “The Archaeology of Design”—innovation is about crossover in which pre-existing design solutions are applied to new problems. This idea directly relates to the development of the Starbucks coffee shop. Starbucks did not invent the coffee shop. Starbucks instead adopted the US coffee shop design from the espresso culture in Milan.
Coffeehouses in Milan are a hub of conversation, designed to create a social environment where people “not only come for great coffee but also to connect to a certain culture.” Starbucks adopted this invention, the coffee shop, from the Italian espresso bar. This distinct coffeehouse community inspired Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, because it was unlike anything in the US. The pre-existing design of the Italian coffee shop was adopted to provide a welcoming, warm environment for people to connect.
Even though Starbucks did not invent the role of the coffee shop, it transformed the role of the coffee shop. Starbucks adopted the Italian coffee culture, and applied it to coffee shops in the US. This idea, innovation as adoption, fundamentally revolutionized the North American coffee shop. This reshaped the consumer experience by transforming the coffee shop from a place to buy coffee to a space for social interaction.
Coffeehouses in Milan are a hub of conversation, designed to create a social environment where people “not only come for great coffee but also to connect to a certain culture.” Starbucks adopted this invention, the coffee shop, from the Italian espresso bar. This distinct coffeehouse community inspired Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, because it was unlike anything in the US. The pre-existing design of the Italian coffee shop was adopted to provide a welcoming, warm environment for people to connect.
Even though Starbucks did not invent the role of the coffee shop, it transformed the role of the coffee shop. Starbucks adopted the Italian coffee culture, and applied it to coffee shops in the US. This idea, innovation as adoption, fundamentally revolutionized the North American coffee shop. This reshaped the consumer experience by transforming the coffee shop from a place to buy coffee to a space for social interaction.
The Design COnundrum
The design of the Starbucks coffee shop is a branded experience with a distinctive identity. Starbucks has been able to integrate customer needs and corporate goals to produce local yet consistent, unique yet comfortable stores all over the world. Starbucks represents a key concept, the “design conundrum”, in which the design of the product is both functional and stylistic. Design is often associated with the physical look of a product, in this case the physical look of the Starbucks store. However, design is also deeply rooted in function, in this case providing coffee to customers.
The Starbucks coffee shop functions initially to provide customers with quality coffee. On the surface level, it is designed to provide producer-consumer transactions in which customers purchase Starbucks coffee products. This is the function of the traditional coffee shop. However, there is an array of stylistic aspects that promote the Starbucks branded experience. The stylistic transcends the functional purpose of the coffee shop. The Starbucks store is not simply a place to grab a cup of coffee; it is a warm, inviting space in which customers can meaningfully interact with one another. Each store designer sets out to create a space in which the Starbucks experience can be inhabited.
Starbucks is dedicated to creating the ubiquitous “third place”, stores that exude a sense of belonging and foster human connections with customers. This is the stylistic aspect of the “design conundrum”; it is the Starbucks experience itself. Starbucks has gained global dominance through selling the Starbucks experience through a space and not a product. Starbucks stores are locally pertinent and “inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”.
The Starbucks coffee shop functions initially to provide customers with quality coffee. On the surface level, it is designed to provide producer-consumer transactions in which customers purchase Starbucks coffee products. This is the function of the traditional coffee shop. However, there is an array of stylistic aspects that promote the Starbucks branded experience. The stylistic transcends the functional purpose of the coffee shop. The Starbucks store is not simply a place to grab a cup of coffee; it is a warm, inviting space in which customers can meaningfully interact with one another. Each store designer sets out to create a space in which the Starbucks experience can be inhabited.
Starbucks is dedicated to creating the ubiquitous “third place”, stores that exude a sense of belonging and foster human connections with customers. This is the stylistic aspect of the “design conundrum”; it is the Starbucks experience itself. Starbucks has gained global dominance through selling the Starbucks experience through a space and not a product. Starbucks stores are locally pertinent and “inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”.