Starbucks is being hit with a little not-so-Christmas-cheer from its social media fans over the design of their cups this year. Apparently, the new ombre design doesn’t look as good as their coffee tastes. The masses are missing the traditional approach of past Christmas designs with snowmen and ornaments adorning their drink. Jeffrey Fields, Starbucks vice president of Design & Content explains, “This year we wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories“.

Is this outcry warranted? Maybe Starbucks is on to something by simplifying the things around us. It’s understood that people want to be surrounded by holiday cheer, but aren’t the holidays about being surrounded by loved ones? Isn’t it more important who you’re sharing a cup of coffee with than what that cup of coffee is contained in?

To spark a little more controversy, maybe the global brand should consider breaking it’s use of red since 1997. The brand’s core values are to “create a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity“, but when it comes to the color of their cups, they are not really diversifying. Let’s design with other colors that also represent the season such as silver and gold or even white and blue.

While people will have to tough it out with the cup of Christmas present, only Starbucks knows what the cup of Christmas future will look like.

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