Coca-Cola Rebrand (Concept)
Beverage / FMCG
Re-Branding
Packaging
Canada
This was a classroom project completed as part of my Visual Design module during my postgrad in Interactive Media Management in Canada. The brief was to take an iconic, universally recognized brand and reimagine its identity in a way that pushed creative boundaries while still honoring its legacy. I chose Coca-Cola a brand so deeply woven into global culture that even the smallest visual change can feel monumental.
The goal was to explore how far the brand could evolve visually without losing the unmistakable essence that has kept it relevant for over a century. This was less about reinventing the wheel and more about fine-tuning its shape, texture, and spin for a new era.
Summary
Refreshing Coca-Cola wasn’t about reinventing the wheel it was about making the world’s most iconic beverage brand feel just as relevant and magnetic today as it did a century ago. The challenge was to respect the heritage while making the design system adaptable to a digital-first, fast-moving marketplace.
I began by treating Coca-Cola’s signature red not just as a color, but as an emotional anchor the instant signal of joy, energy, and comfort. Instead of competing with it, I stripped away unnecessary visual noise, building a cleaner palette that let the red shine in every format, from a supermarket aisle to an Instagram story. Typography leaned into a more fluid and approachable style, softening edges without losing the brand’s authority, while layouts introduced breathing room and hierarchy that made every touchpoint feel as refreshing as the drink itself.
To weave in freshness, I introduced modular design accents subtle waves, ripples, and flexible graphic elements that could unify campaigns while allowing room for seasonal adaptations and product spin-offs. The result was a brand refresh that felt undeniably Coca-Cola: warm, familiar, but sharpened for a modern audience that expects clarity, versatility, and timeless appeal.
Challenge
Rebranding Coca-Cola comes with a weight unlike almost any other brand. It isn’t just a logo or a color palette it’s woven into pop culture, childhood memories, and moments of connection across generations. Its curves, its red, its typography these elements are more than visuals; they’re cultural artifacts. The challenge wasn’t just “how do you change it?” but rather, “how do you evolve it without losing its soul?”
Change too much, and you risk alienating loyal consumers who hold deep emotional ties to the brand. Change too little, and the refresh risks fading into the background, unnoticed in an increasingly crowded beverage market. Striking the right balance required disciplined experimentation: pushing the design far enough to spark intrigue and modernity, but always pulling back just before the point where it stopped feeling like Coca-Cola.
Adding to the complexity, this was an academic project with compressed timelines meaning the process had to simulate the pressures of a real-world rebrand: quick ideation, rapid iteration, and strategic decision-making under constraint. The challenge became as much about navigating boundaries as it was about designing: what could be removed without diluting recognition? What could be added without feeling like an imposter?
Solutions
I approached the rebrand with one guiding philosophy: modernize, don’t overwrite. The first step was research distilling Coca-Cola’s non-negotiable DNA. Interviews, audits of past campaigns, and competitive analysis all pointed to the same conclusion: the red, the script, and the sense of motion were sacred. With those anchors in place, I focused on reimagining the system around them.
-Color system refinement: Red remained the hero, supported only by white and a carefully chosen accent. This reduction simplified the palette, making the brand feel more intentional and adaptable across packaging, digital platforms, and retail displays.
-Typography evolution: Testing revealed that slight shifts in typography could make the brand feel both more contemporary and more legible across digital screens. The type treatment was softened fluid yet confident balancing approachability with authority.
-Modular grid systems: To ensure consistency and scalability, I built a flexible grid system that allowed layouts to feel fresh while still connected. This system extended across touchpoints, from bottle labels to billboards, ensuring a cohesive visual rhythm.
-Packaging exploration: Mockups introduced cleaner label compositions with generous negative space. By giving the logo more room to breathe, the design emphasized recognition and clarity, letting the red work harder as the emotional cue.
The process sharpened my ability to make strategic, research-backed design decisions under constraint. The outcome wasn’t a radical overhaul, but a thoughtful refresh proving that sometimes the most powerful transformations come not from reinventing, but from refining. Coca-Cola emerged from the process feeling both timeless and current: a legacy brand equipped for the next generation of consumers.