The Starbucks logo is recognized worldwide, but its history is less well-known. According to the company's website, their logo ties in with coffee's "seafaring tradition." The chain's home is Seattle, which borders the Pacific Ocean, and most Starbucks coffee beans are shipped across this ocean; thus, the nautical motif of the green mermaid.

Starbucks also notes that their mermaid is technically a siren, given that she has two tails, and the latest change to their mascot's design occurred in 2011. To add a humanistic touch, Starbucks' design team altered the shadows around the siren's nose to be asymmetrical, since some consumers found the perfect symmetry of her face to be "creepy."

Starbucks claims that the first iteration of their logo was derived from sixteenth-century Norse woodcuts, but some historians think the design came from German woodcuts instead. The café's logo, and the whole company, have another historical tie; Starbucks is actually named after a character from the classic nautical novel Moby Dick.