I’m not a big fan of the color green or soft drink logos or lemon lime soft drinks. But given the recent spate of rueful logo changes (i.e. Pepsi), my hat’s off to Sprite. Although I nostalgically prefer the original can most of all (bottom), the latest incarnation (top) is conceptually very smart. That coupling of the lemon and lime into an S is a pretty tart combination, and an improvement on the earlier clam-like iterations. It took me half a second to see the “reveal,” but once I did, it was pretty tasty.
If mass-market, sugar-laden soft drinks (the kind Mayor “sugar free” Bloomberg is attempting to ban from school vending machines) are to be judged on their health merits, Sprite is still too sweet (in the unhealthy sense) for my taste, but the logo itself is sweet in the good, teenage hipster sense of the word. The next Sprite challenge: Do something about the type.
About Steven Heller
Steven Heller is the co-chair of the SVA MFA Designer /Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program, writes frequently for Wired and Design Observer. He is also the author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. He received the 1999 AIGA Medal and is the 2011 recipient of the Smithsonian National Design Award.View all posts by Steven Heller →