Coca-cola  2003

In 2003, renowned Hong Kong designer Alan Chan, known as the "Godfather of Hong Kong Graphic Design," redesigned the Chinese logo for Coca-Cola. Since Coca-Cola entered the Chinese market in 1979, this marked the first major redesign of its Chinese visual identity in 24 years.

In 2002, Alan Chan was invited by Coca-Cola to redesign its Chinese logo, with the goal of creating a design that retained both Chinese cultural characteristics and an international appeal. During the design process, he conducted an in-depth study of the structure and features of the English "Coca-Cola" logo, paying particular attention to its ribbon-like elements and the flowing curves of the Spencerian Script. He skillfully incorporated these visual characteristics into the Chinese typography, transforming the traditional Chinese Regular Script, also known as the KaiTi typeface (Fig. 3), into a streamlined, 'Spencerian-style' Chinese typeface (Fig. 1). This new design maintained a strong visual connection with the English logo while preserving the natural fluidity of Chinese script.

To enhance modernity and brand recognition, Chan introduced a multi-layered ribbon design and added silver outlines within the ribbons, further reinforcing the sense of movement and dimensionality. The overall logo remained primarily red, but with the addition of dark red arcs in the background, creating richer color depth and stronger visual impact. The typography was set in white with silver outlining, forming a high-contrast red-and-white composition while reducing overall color saturation for a more balanced visual effect.

The final design successfully retained Coca-Cola’s signature vibrancy and international image while incorporating elements of Eastern aesthetics.To this day, the logo remains in use, witnessing Coca-Cola’s continued growth in the Chinese market while highlighting Alan Chan’s lasting influence in the field of graphic design.