By Herman Lai, posted Apr 19, 2012 at 3:15 PM, 1,847 views,

Young Designer of Steve Jobs’ Tribute Designed A New Poster For Coca Cola

The Hong Kong design student Jonathan Mak Long once again draws attention. Graham Fink, the chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather China, recently tracked down Jonathan and given him an assignment with a simple brief ‘Sharing a Coke’. Then, he came up with an impressive design shown above and it was subsequently being used as a new outdoor executions in Shanghai. The ad is now part of Coca-Cola’s ongoing global ‘Open Happiness’ campaign.

Jonathan first gained notoriety for a virally-sensational tribute logo for Apple founder Steve Jobs. After his design was adopted by the firm and displayed all around Shanghai, he said on his blog:

If you are in Shanghai, you may come across a poster I designed for Coca-Cola. The Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy China got in touch with me, and offered me this amazing opportunity. I can’t thank them enough, and really hope we can keep doing work together in the future.

Here is what Fink commented about Jonathan’s work:

“It’s an emotional image meant to bring a little smile to your face and warmth in your heart. It conveys sharing in a manner that is uniquely ownable by Coke, as the only two elements in the entire visual—the ‘Dynamic Ribbon’ and the ‘Contour Bottle’—are both its trademarks and worldwide icons. In a market like China where clutter is the norm, the hyper-minimalistic and simple curves in the design, which doesn’t even include Coke’s logo, are a show-stopping example of ‘less is more’.”

Stephen Drummond, the creative excellence for Coca-Cola in Asia Pacific also said:

“Everyone’s responded with a sense of, ‘Wow, that’s a different, intriguing spin on something so iconic and so familiar.’ Just for that reason it engages people. Of course the message of connection and friendship with the brand at the center comes through very clearly. The design could be used in markets outside of China, though nothing is confirmed because it’s still so fresh.”

The advert debut in Shanghai in the past weekend, and the outdoor imagery will run in bus shelters and elevators across the city for a month.

Source: CampaignChina, AdAge, Jonathan Mak’s Blog