Jo's Starbucks red cup

Johanna Basford, an ink illustrator who prefers pens & pencils over pixels. She feels "computer-generated graphics can feel cold and soul-less whereas hand-drawing captures a sense of energy and character which no pixel can ever replicate".

She started drawing on empty Starbucks cups as early as September 2010. 

I suppose her big ambition of illustrating a Starbucks red cup was born then.

So in January 2011, she started her campaign for the Starbucks Christmas cup by sending this parcel to the Starbucks UK people.

She even added an ink illustration to her letter.

By February, she was asked to send another parcel to the Starbucks HQ folks in Seattle, USA. 

Unfortunately, by March 2011, the design for the 2011 Christmas cup had already been decided on and was in fact, already in production! The 2011 Christmas cups have been out for a while now. But in case you want to sip your coffee from Jo's inky red cup, click here for a downloadable artwork you can cut out and tape onto your Starbucks cup. Watch the video of how she hand-draws and inks her Starbucks Christmas cup illustration here!

As of November 2011, Jo was still in touch with the Starbucks HQ Creative Director for other potential inky Starbucks projects which I personally hope push through because I kind of like the black ink better than the red (I wonder if green ink will look better?). Isabella is loving this particular inky cup with the owl and skulls.

What about you? Which of Jo's inky cups do you want to see mass-produced?

Am rooting for Jo's dream to come true. But even before it does, I have to say I admire how...

I certainly hope the Starbucks folks grant this Christmas wish in 2012!

Photos from here and johannabasford.