Coca Cola: An Iconic Logo

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or what language it’s attempted to be translated (yes, even Chinese), the Coca Cola script logo is probably the most recognizable logo world-wide, and this is especially important since it’s sold in over 200 countries. It all started back in 1885 when Coca Cola was introduced as a “patent medicine” by pharmacists John S. Pemberton and was the first carbonated drink introduced to Americans. The first Coca Cola logo was designed by Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson who thought the two Cs would be graphically appealing in advertising, and it was Robinson who not only came up with the name of the product, but the logo’s distinctive ribbon style script. Wanting to market predominately to the “young minded,” the typeface (known as Spencerian script) was purposely chosen to appeal to this market segment. Over the years there have been some adaptations made to the style of the original bottle (originally made famous by its curve in 1915), but the “contour bottle” is about as synonymous with Coca Cola as the color red is to its logo script. Often referred to as “the best design ever” the bottle and logo are deeply imbedded in the brand’s corporate identify since registering it as a trademark back in 1887.