Bill Gardner applauds the new  symbol-based Starbucks logo on the Harvard Business Review blog.  He explains that "in eliminating the words 'Starbucks Coffee' from the logo, the company frees itself from 'limiting baggage' of a too-narrow product association."  The omission of the logo's green donut will, in Gardner's opinion, put Starbucks once again one step ahead of the knock-off coffee chains that have made a business of reproducing the circular prototype with wraparound text.  His final analysis deems the logo "a welcome refresh that will build new relevance for Starbucks ."