Coca-Cola wants you to redesign its classic logo!

NOTE: This story seems to have been overtaken by events beyond our control - please see the final two comments at the bottom of the article for an update.

One of the world's most iconic brands is asking the design community to reinvent its logo.

Coca-Cola, has teamed up with design platform BlankYou Very Much to have their logo re-envisioned in the competition (which is open to US residents only).

Along with "bragging rights", the winning designer will receive $5000, and their design will be incorporated into a limited-edition T-shirt.

Community choice

BlankYou Very Much (BYVM), an ecommerce and design platform created by Darren Romanelli, gives design enthusiasts the opportunity to re-interpret iconic logo designs and assets into fresh new concepts.

Designs for the Coca-Cola logo need to be submitted to the site, where the BYVM community will vote on the finalists.

The judges

Once the finalists have been announced, they will be judged by a panel of design experts including:

• Bobby Hundreds, founder of The Hundreds
• Wendy Lam, editor-in-chief of Nitrolicious.com
• Jared Flint, art director for Gilt Groupe
• Michael Dupouy, founder of La MJC
• Darren Romanelli a.k.a. DRx

The brief

Interestingly, the brief is not wide open. Coca-Cola has placed some very specific restrictions on what kind of designs will be considered acceptable including:

• The logo can only be presented in red and white (blue is expressly forbidden)
• No international logos or flags may be used
• The dynamic ribbon logo can only run horizontally
• The outline of the contour bottle needs to be pristine
• The design theme should always reflect a balanced, healthy lifestyle
• All designs should be targeted to a 12-years-and-older demographic

The deadlines

Design submissions for the competition will be accepted until October 29, followed by community votes between October 30 and November 12. The judges will deliberate from November 13-19 and announce the winner on November 23.

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Even industry organisations such as AIGA run design competitions - but what are your views on them? Do you see them a bit of fun, a good opportunity for designers to develop their portfolio and skills, or unacceptable "spec work"? Let us know your views in the comments!