Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic brands and logos of all time. There is no disputing this, even when written in different languages, it is instantly recognizable across the globe. Today, after a successful, “Share a Coke,” campaign…which saw a variety of names on the packaging, I came across something I never could have imagined.
Gone were all names. Not just VIP, Showstopper, Karen, Dad, but even the name Coca-Cola itself. The names and labels were dumped about as fast as a 72-day Kardashian wedding.
Coca-Cola states it is removing names, even it’s own, in attempt to get the world to see without labels. Wow that’s deep, I mean, commendable. Then I got to thinking, wait a minute, what if a company came to me and told me they wanted a website without a logo. Would that even be possible? I’m starting to get anxious about a completely hypothetical situation but, what if?
I place blame on Pininfarina, the design firm better know for its car designs for Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Fiat.
They worked with Coca-Cola to design their Freestyle soda machine. Don’t get me wrong, they did an exceptional job, even won a 2011 Good Design Award. However when you look at the sleek soda machines, they foretold of things to come in design. The Coca-Cola logo for example was placed on the sides of the machine, rather than the front. On the front, besides what I’m calling the Coca-Cola swirl, was a very, very, small logo. Interesting to compare it to the pop machines I remember back in high school, which were nothing but logo top-to-bottom.
Based on Coke’s recent bold move we wonder if logos and brands are evolving in a way that will make them minimal, clean, flat, almost secondary. The evolution of Twitter’s logo from cartoon bird to its current format is another great example. How these smaller and minimal logos will translate over to web design and its aesthetic appeal remains to be seen. I guess I shouldn’t lose any sleep over it, yet. No logo? Guess that’s not all that different when I request current digital assets and get informed there aren’t any.