I love a small, family-owned coffee shop as much as the next person but there is something about Starbucks that I just can’t keep away from. Maybe they add more sugar to their Frappuccinos than is fathomable or maybe they train every barista for months on end on the art of making a great cappuccinos. Whatever it is, I love my drinks from Starbucks.

So when I saw a great website from Starbucks offering free samples, I was delighted!

The website, Starbucks Coffee at Home is an all-Flash site. On my connection at home, it loads pretty slowly.

The chalk artwork on the whole site is well worth the wait. Check out the Barista Gallery if you visit the site. I never had the patience to draw more than a little cup of soup on Crisper’s chalkboard, I don’t know how these guys did what they did.

I love how each page you go to is erased but you can still see it behind the new page, something about that is so unique but so “duh”-simple. Why didn’t I think of that? I can’t imagine what kind of Actionscript probably goes into this site. There are a lot of small touches to the site that just made me smile, like the chalk dust.

As much as I usually hate sound on a website, I do like the ambient background “music”. When I got to clicking around a lot, the chalk sounds did get annoying.

I took the “Find my Perfect Coffee” test at the bottom and got a free sample of the House Blend delivered to work. Can’t wait to try it! :9 Mmm mmm.

The packaging it came in was great. I was expecting a regular brown box and honestly, a smaller sample. The box the sample came in was computer software-style, same basic shape, smaller size with a flap in the front with more information. I absolutely love the art. That little rooster is so cute.

So thanks Starbucks for the eye and taste bud candy!

Tags: art, coffee, flash, food, package design, Web Design

This entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 6:25 pm and is filed under My Personal Life, Web Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.