Starbucks Unveils The White Cup Contest Winning Design (and a look at some other submissions).

Starbucks White Cup Contest Winner

Meet the Starbucks White Cup Contest Winner, 20 year old Pittsburgh resident Brita Lynn Thompson. The design contest held by the coffee giant was to determine what will be printed on their limited edition plastic cups due out in the Fall. Starbucks had almost 4000 entries to choose from.

Starbucks White Cup Contest Winner

Starbucks Announces Winner Of Their White Cup Design Contest:
Starbucks will be unveiling this new artistic design by 20 year old Brita Lynn Thompson on its limited-edition reusable plastic cups this autumn.

Starbucks White Cup Winning Design hero IIHIH

The community college student is the winner of the Starbucks White Cup Contest, a design competition in which Starbucks asked its fans to develop their own original artwork to fill the blank canvas of its white re0usable coffee cups shown below.

White cup contest blank cups IIHIH

The competition encouraged customers in the U.S. and Canada to decorate a Starbucks cup with customized art, take a photo of it, and submit the design through social media using the hashtag #WhiteCupContest.

The contest was a doodler’s dream. Starbucks received almost 4,000 entries in just three weeks. Below are some other entries I felt were worth noting.

Submission by Rob Draper: (his work warrants a post of its own, see a feature the Daily Mail wrote about his coffee cup art here)
rob draper submission IIHIH

Submission by Sicabonita (aka Jessica Chapman):  She has a store on etsy you can check out here
submission by sicabonita IIHIH

Submission by Branden Loetz: Branden is a trainer at Sea World in Orlando as well as an illustrator
submission2 by BrandenLoetz IIHIH

Submission by Patricia Zapata: (an incredibly talented graphic designer and artist)
submission by patricia zapata IIHIH

Submission by Cassie Xiong: She also has a tumblr site with lots of fabulous cup art here
submission by Cassie Xiong IIHIH

Submission by Theopolis Smith: Theopolis aka Phresh Laundry has a website here
submission by Theoplis Smith IIHIH

You can see some more of the best submissions on Starbuck’s Pinterest page here

Brita said she was “speechless” when she saw an email from Starbucks letting her know she had the winning design.

winner Brita Lynn Thompson

“It was probably the happiest day of my life,” she said. “This cup is totally amazing – so expressive and iconic, but also so handmade. It’s different from anything we’ve ever done,” said Ryan Turner, Starbucks ‎director of global social media. “There were thousands of entries, and an unbelievable amount of variety and creativity. It’s humbling and inspiring and it made for a really difficult, but fun, choice. Congratulations to Brita!”

other work by brita lynn thompson IIHIH
above: a diligent doodler, here’s some other works by Brita Lynn Thompson

Brita didn’t have a plan for the design when she started drawing on an empty cup she’d just picked up from the Starbucks in Market Square. Sitting in Point State Park, she started with a bold zig-zag line from the top of the cup to the bottom.

stacked winning design starbucks cups IIHIH

One spontaneous line, led to a swirl, then a circle, next a diamond pattern and small squares until the cup was covered – except for the Starbucks Siren logo – with a contemporary design.

“I created several other cups, but that one was my favorite,” she said. “It really represents who I am as an artist.”
other entries from winner
above: some of the other cup designs by Brita (photo courtesy of her facebook page)

Brita plans to continue studying art and would like to transfer to Savannah College of Art and Design, perhaps to become a fabric designer.

“I want to create art that makes people happy,” she said. “It’s that simple.”

Brita’s winning design will be available this fall on a limited edition Starbucks reusable plastic cup.

Designed to look like the company’s paper cups, Starbucks reusable cup debuted in January of 2013. The plastic cup is sturdier than paper, but thinner than a typical tumbler with a lifespan of about 30 uses.

“This is really an honor for me,” Brita said. “I’m amazed and so happy.”

Images courtesy of Brita Lynn Thompson and Starbucks and each individual artist from their site or facebook pages (links to those in the post).