In celebration of its 125th anniversary, Coca-Cola will be showcasing some of the iconic designs that have formed an essential part of the brand’s history.
The free installation that will be on display in Design Museum Tank outside the museum on London’s South Bank beginning May 20 and through July 3, is dedicated mainly to two of the basic elements of the brand identity: Coca-Cola contour bottle and Coca-Cola logo. The exhibition will take visitors on a journey through time so they will see how the bottle and logo has changed throughout history.
The exhibition showcases bottles and cans that demonstrate the evolution of the famous beverage: starting from the original 1899 ‘Hutchinson’ bottle and to the “Coca-Cola Space Can” that was drunk on board Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985 as well as the brand’s most well-recognized symbol, the famous glass ‘Contour’ bottle from 1915.
Another interesting exhibit is a book that Coca-Cola Great Britain created in 1954 to document and celebrate the design and erection of the first Coke sign at Piccadilly Circus, since this is the only copy of the book in existence providing fascinating details and photographs of the event.
Ted Ryan, manager of the Coca-Cola archives, said “I’ve spent the last 14 years working in Coca-Cola’s archives so I’ve become very attached to a lot of the exhibits on display as well as the stories attached to them. I’m really proud to be able to share some of the highlights from Coca-Cola’s illustrious history with visitors to the Design Museum”.
Interestingly, this installation designed to pay homage to the past of the brand also features such modern-day technology as QR codes to provide additional content to the installation. By scanning the QR codes with their mobile devices, visitors may get access to Coca-Cola archive material.
Teh Coca-Cola installation at Design Museum closes this week, on Sunday, July 3, 2011. Only 6 days left to attend! It will no doubt be of great interest to anyone with a passion for design and history of the iconic brand.
Here are some featured photos from the exhibition:
