In 1982, when sports and training became popular all over the world, Coca-Cola decided to release Diet Coke — a beverage without sugar and with a minimum number of calories. So, for the first time in 96 years, the original composition of Coca-Cola was changed. By the end of 1983, Diet Coke had already become the No. 1 diet soft drink in the U.S. market and the leading soft drink brand among women.
The decision to launch a diet version of Coca-Cola was truly risky. By that time, the company had already been producing the Tab drink for almost 20 years, which was the No. 1 brand in the category of calorie-free drinks in the United States and an important source of revenue.
So the new beverage was launched in 1982. It was a drink with reduced phosphoric acid, a modified composition of fruit oils, and, most importantly, no sugar at all. Diet Coke contained equal parts saccharin and aspartame, but it was soon made exclusively with aspartame.
Initially, there were three name options for the new drink: Sugar-Free, Light, and Diet. After lengthy discussions, it was decided to settle on the latter. That’s how Diet Coke came to be.
In some countries, the drink was called Coca-Cola Light, and in Europe, it was known under two different names, although the design of cans and bottles was similar. By 1986, Diet Coke was already available in 61 countries. The line of flavors was expanded over time: in 1986 Diet Coke came out with cherry flavor, in 2001 the flavor of lemon appeared, in 2004 – vanilla, and 2005 – lime. In 2018, the drink was relaunched and received four new fruit flavors.
What is Diet Coke?
Diet Coke is the name of the first calorie-free beverage under the Coca-Cola brand, introduced in 1982. Interestingly, the first version of the drink had saccharine instead of sugar, which was customary at the time. And less than a year later, in 1983, Diet Coke was launched with aspartame.
In terms of visual identity, Diet Coke has not changed much — the logo of the brand was always based on the corporate Coca-Cola insignia, following the typeface and the colors of the iconic badge.
The original Diet Coke logo, introduced in 1982, featured a solid red two-leveled lettering in a classy serif typeface with a wavy ribbon at the bottom. And the word “diet” was originally written on the packaging with a small letter to draw attention to Coca-Cola itself.
The redesign of 1987 was held by the famous Landor Associates. They have changed the typeface of the lettering to a modified italicized Baker Signet, and redrew the ribbon — now it was overlapped by the “K” and the “E”. The shade of red was slightly brightened up.
The composition of the Diet Coke logo was significantly changed in 1994. This is when the “Diet” part was rewritten with a capital letter. It was now set in an elegant cursive and underlined by a classy ribbon, while the “Coke” at the bottom was executed in a straight and stable serif font. The shade of red was slightly calmed down, compared to the previous version.
Another redesign was held by the Diet Coke brand in 1997. The color palette of the logo was changed to red and black, with the cursive “Diet” set in black and accompanied by an image of a tall glass, and the red “Coke” getting thin black shadows around its characters.
One more version of the Diet Coke logo was introduced in 2002. The black cursive “Diet” moved slightly beyond, overlapping the tip of the “K”. As for the “Coke”, it was rewritten in a smoother serif font, with all the corners rounded.
On the US market the logo of the brand in 2002 — 2007 was a bit different: the black “Diet” was smaller, and the “Coke” had a medium-weight black outline. Also, in terms of spacing this badge was more balanced, than the international one.
The redesign of 2007 has changed the typography of the Diet Coke logo, making it more modern and sharp. The edgy and playful tail of the cursive “D” was now supported by the flared and pointed bars of the “Coke” characters.
In 2015 the company introduced a new logo exclusively for the UK market. Both parts of the brand’s name were set in one line and one cursive typeface. The black “Diet” was underlined by wavy black elements with a sharp tail, and the upper tail of the “C” was elongated intertwining with the loop of the “K”.
The Australian Diet Coke logo from 2017 was much more complicated than tall previous versions. The white “Coca-Cola” inscription in the iconic corporate style was written across a solid red circle and accompanied by a black lettering written above it — with the “Diet” in the same font.
The redesign of 2017 has reworked the logo, introduced in 2007, cleaning up the contours of the “Coke” inscription and switching the black of the “Diet” to the same red. The new composition looks very laconic and stylish, and as of 2024, is still used by the company.
In 2022 solely for the Australian market the Diet Coke logo was redesigned again. And again, it is based on the corporate Coca-Cola insignia, which is written in red against a silverish gray background and accompanied by a small and delicate “Diet”, written in the lowercase of a sans-serif typeface, also in red.
The fancy red lettering from the primary Diet Coke logo is executed in two different fonts — the classy cursive for the “Diet”, which looks close to Lunair, and the bold sans-serif “Coke”, which has somewhat in common with Tabac Glam and GHEA Zartonk.
As for the color palette of Diet Coke’s visual identity, it is based on a bright and vivid shade of red, which stands for passion, warmth, and love.