Diet Coke has been going for a more fashionable angle for awhile now. Gaultier's fun Diet Coke campaign, Karl Lagerfeld and other fashion designer bottle designs and now a new can design by San Francisco design shop Turner Duckworth (initially introduced as a limited edition about a year ago).
But they haven't stopped there. They've enlisted the talents of young designers from top design schools like Parsons, Otis, SCAD and more to help brand the soda with a STAYEXTRAORDINARY t-shirt design contest.
above: the new Diet Coke can design
In June of this year, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Diet Coke entered into a partnership to launch a design contest to find the identifying graphic element that best supports their current STAYEXTRAORDINARY campaign.
THE ASSIGNMENT
To “Design an original “extraordinary” graphic element for a woman’s t-shirt that makes a statement about Diet Coke and those who drink it”.
They asked that the students focus more on the graphic design rather than a text design. To avoid confusion, Diet Coke has removed the font/typography elements from their FTP site so that students focus more on the graphic design itself.
THE WINNER
above: The winning design by Alfonso Gustavo
THE JUDGES
The winning T-shirt design was selected by some of the biggest names in fashion including Vince Voron, associate Vice President, Strategic Design and Integrated Marketing Content, Coca-Cola North America, creative experts from Target and luminary designers Zac Posen, Cynthia Rowley and L’Wren Scott.
THE TOP 20 FINALISTS
* Gustavo Alonso, Miami International University of Art and Design, Miami,
Fla.
* Florencia Chaves, Parsons The New School for Design, Brooklyn, N.Y.
* Mackenzie Gaudette, Miami International University of Art and Design,
Miami, Fla.
* Marianne Grobman, Miami International University of Art and Design,
Aventura, Fla.
* Sarah Humphries, Savannah College of Art and Design, Tampa, Fla.
* Adele Jackson, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Kelly Jenkins, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Toni-Marie Koulos, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Xenia Lally, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Zi Lin, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Katherine Owen, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Danielle Perret, Parsons The New School for Design, New York, N.Y.
* Raquel Reyes, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Victoria Schermerhorn, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Brianna Scherlock, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Kayla Speedy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Renee Tomic, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Florencia Torlaschi, Miami International University of Art and Design,
Tamarac, Fla.
* Logan Treacy, Savannah College of Art and Design, Charlotte, N.C.
* Mengdi Wu, Parsons The New School for Design, New York, N.Y.
THE TEN FINALIST DESIGNERS AND ARTWORK
(listed alphabetically)
The 20 listed above were then narrowed down to the following ten finalists using the following percentage breakdown:
•Creativity/Originality of Shirt Design (33%);
•Appeal of Submission (33%); and
• Fit to Contest Theme of Extraordinary Design (34%).
Alonso Gustavo (the winner):
Brianna Sherlock:
Florencia Torlaschi:
Katherine Leigh Owen:
Logan Treacy:
Mackenzie Gaudette:
Marianne Grobman:
Mengdi Wu:
Renee Marilyn Tomic:
Zi Lin:
The winner was chosen by fans casting their votes at DietCoke.com/Design
“Diet Coke is an exciting and stylish brand, and we are pleased to be a partner in this unique design challenge,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA. “We’re always looking for ways to support the next generation of fashion designers, and this will be an amazing accomplishment for a student to put on a resume before he or she even graduates!”
THE PRIZES
To encourage the talented finalists to continue chasing their passions, two runners-up selected by the judging panel will each receive $2,500 scholarships, and the remaining 17 finalists will each receive $250 scholarships.
Limited-edition t-shirts featuring the winning design by Gustavo Alonso will be produced and available at Target stores next month.
In addition to having his or her design available in Target stores nationwide this September, Alonso also will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a trip to New York City in September to experience the rush of a week of high fashion.
All images and information courtesy of DietCoke.com