“I used the eye from my logo to create a bizarre version of the “traditional” Coke Side of Life ads”.

“I hand drew the flowers and traced them in Illustrator before playing with them in Photoshop”.

Tribute to “Coke Side of Thailand” by Saiyukiii

Tribute to Adhemas’ “Coke Side of Life” artwork by Spring Rayne. “I had to create a pop art image for my art class & I love Coca-Cola…”

In this video you can see Blake and his team creating the 7m high work of art on the SouthBank. Blake’s enthusiasm for the project shows in his large-scale piece; it is at once an icon for Coke and for his signature style.

The Southbank of the River Thames is one of London’s most vibrant locations; jugglers, mime artists, silver human statues, this place has got the lot. But what would happen it you added the Godfather of UK Pop Art and creator of the legendary Sgt. Peppers album cover, Sir Peter Blake?

Photography by Russell+, Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

Last Summer, Sir Peter Blake has been commissioned by Coca-Cola UK to create a stunning piece of pop art celebrating “Summer on the Coke Side of Life”. Here you can see the end result.

Photo by Slimmer_Jimmer, Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

The work of the Remix artists reflects various styles, personalities and cultures and the project shows how vibrantly creative the collaboration of a design network can be.
The diverse backgrounds of the contributing artists have resulted in a multifaceted world of imagery that draws its freshness from the mixture of approaches. Their mission is to spread an optimistic look at the world and help people realize how contagious happiness is. By combining iconic Coca-Cola images with up-to-date illustration techniques and styles, the artists have given rise to a progressive style of visual expression.

Designed within the “Coke Side of Life” concept and format, the Remix artworks are colorful explosions of positive thinking.
The experimental, playful and humorous collages of historical Coca-Cola milestone images are a true tribute to the brands unique and undying creative spirit.

Photography by RWDave, Russell+, Slimmer_Jimmer, Simpson_eh, Bergs Eye View, Hallywoods, Owizard (Flickr). All Rights Reserved.

ABOUT ROCKANDROLL AGENCY

RockAndRoll Agency is a full-cycle communication agency offering marketing services, strategic development and art direction. RockAndRoll Agency was founded in 2003 by Jean-Philippe Noterman and Wouter De Coster. Jean-Philippe studied philosophy/anthropology, Wouter has a background as fashion designer. Before starting RockAndRoll Agency, they worked already together for 5 years in the publishing and communication business.

RockAndRoll Agency has worked for clients as various as The Coca-Cola Group, Nokia, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Schott NY, Motorola, Hugo Boss Fragrances…
RockAndRoll Agency is dedicated to the production of visual identity design, graphic animation and websites. As art buyers and curators, RRA is always looking for artists with strong ideas and an individual voice.

ARTIST PORTRAIT
The man behind 013a is Matei Apostolescu, a 23-year-old graphic designer and illustrator living in Bucharest, Romania. With a classical music and graffiti background, he started designing only three years ago. He has since completed various projects involving illustration, web design and motion animation. Last year, he established his own design studio in Bucharest. Matei finds great inspiration in literature and the visual universe of his own childhood in the post-Communist epoch. In only a short space of time, 013a has become one of the absolute darlings of today’s graphic scene, and with his very recognizable style – a mix of analogue and computer art – Matei consistently pushes the boundaries of visual communication. His often experimental and challenging work can be seen on book covers , magazines, ads, posters, boards and on clothing.

INTERVIEW

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
A lot of things but especially technology and the ever changing complexity
of the world we live in.

DID IT TAKE LONG TO FIND YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?
I never tried to have one specific style – I just let it happen. Most of my work is freestyle.

DO YOU START SKETCHING ON PAPER OR DO YOU WORK DIRECTLY ON THE COMPUTER?
I start with very detailed drawings made with rotring pens, scan them in and process them in Photoshop.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO AT THE MOMENT?
Most of the time, I listen to IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) and electronic music.

DO YOU READ DESIGN MAGAZINES?
I love Computer Arts magazine, and I read a lot of art blogs on the web.

WHICH PROJECT HAS GIVEN YOU THE MOST SATISFACTION?
The 115 digital art gallery in Bucharest. I`m one of the founders and I didn’t expect it to grow so fast. We made a lot of noise with this project in Romania and on the web.

DO YOU DISCUSS YOUR WORK WITH OTHER ARTISTS?
Of course. I get masses of feedback from various forums / art groups. There’s a lot of idea sharing going on via the internet right now and to me this is a great way of learning and understanding what’s going on around me.

WHAT INTERESTS YOU MOST IN THE COKE SIDE OF LIFE REMIX PROJECT?
I was always fascinated by the classic Coca-Cola posters, so the chance to work with such important historical material really meant a lot for my skills and future development.

WHAT IS THE MESSAGE IN YOUR REMIX ARTWORK?
Love & understanding the idea of love.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO COME UP WITH ARTWORKS THAT FIT A THEME?
Not really. I think it’s an exercise of putting things into perspective and understanding how to transmit a certain message or feeling to someone else.

WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM PROJECT AS AN ARTIST?
Well, this may sound strange, but it’s a one billion dollar movie. The way I see it, this would be the biggest artistic collaboration in human history.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING?
In a beautiful place on the Danube, at the Cetate Cultural Port – a cool spot for relaxation and the best food on earth.

ARTIST PORTRAIT
Illustrators, designers, stylists, painters, creators of artefacts, web artists, photographers, … Caos Comunicacion Creativa, based in Barcelona, is the studio that links the most diverse talents. Founders Christian Borau and Maria Duran got their start in the graphic world in the late nineties. Being art directors for famous clubs as Palm Beach, Cube and Zoom, fashion labels Chupa Chups, Anata Sesa, Caliu and Group, they got their Caos flyers, posters and fashion prints posted everywhere.
With their online community project Urban Freezone, Caos wants to create a bridge between urban artists from all-over the world. The Freezone project and other Caos initiatives arise from a desire to approach, update and expand today’s visual languages: “We want to be on the cutting-edge of the latest trends in style and appearance, if possible offering innovative solutions and using new graphic styles, without losing sight of our principal objective, which is that the message should be clear and accessible.”

Caos CC for Zoom Club

INTERVIEW

WHAT IS CAOS CC ALL ABOUT? WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS NAME?
Caos Creative Communication was founded in 2002 by Christian Borau and Maria Duran. We are working with a wild & wide bunch of friends and collaborators on graphic, web and art projects for our own clients and some agencies.
The name fits our way of working very well: it’s all about accumulation and composition. We also like the theory that chaos is not really a disorder, it’s just a more complex and spontaneous order.

WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE?
Sometimes a painter or illustrator. And at other times a musician or actor. The most important was that is was something artistic…

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND?
Already from the time I was a child, I love all kind of creative expressions, and especially music and drawing. Of course it helped that I had artistic minded parents. My father was a musician, and my mother sent me to an Anthroposophy school in Germany where I got a good primal art education. Later I studied comic style drawing in the Joso School of Barcelona. Two years later I started graphic design studies at the same school.
I made a Master of Multimedia and worked in printing, as a graphic designer and later as an Art Director at Miquel Roig Associates, a small studio with big clients. I left to become a freelancer, and later I created Caos together with Maria.

Caos CC for Relevant Magazine

Caos CC for Tibetan Toybox

WHAT SPARKS YOUR IDEAS?
Sketching a lot, the music I like, good art magazines, the work of other artists, …

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH AS A DESIGNER?
To be creative all as long as I live!

WHAT IS THE BEST PART OF WHAT YOU DO?
The best part is definitely the freewheeling part. I like to expand one graphic identity to different supports. It’s like when a painter makes a series of paintings with the same style or concept.

CAN YOU GIVE SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON YOUR ‘COCA-COLA’ “MUSIC IS LOVE” POSTER?
The central image of the kiss is actually a self portrait. The artwork was vectorized from a photo of me and my wife Maria Duran (the other part of Caos). We’re both great music lovers, and for us this poster is very special!

‘Coca-Cola’ Remix – “Music Is Love” by Caos CC

CHRISTIAN, YOU ARE ALSO A WELL-KNOWN DJ, WHAT IS THE MUSIC YOU LISTEN TO WHILE WORKING?
I like to listen to a lot of different styles of music; it’s the only way to have a total music experience. I´m a huge fan of Prince and The Cure. When I struggle with a new design, that’s the kind of music I put on. But I also like the unique and very special statements of Miles Davis, Fela Kuti, Bauhaus, Bob Marley and Keith Jarret.
I also like to listen to flamenco/fusion artists like El Bicho, Macaco, Ojos de Brujo or Camaron. Or classical music. When I’m in a mood for electronic sounds, I listen to Thom Yorke, Depeche Mode and Amon Tobin or other Ninja Tune artists.

Caos CC for Palm Beach

IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR ARTIST YOU ADMIRE A LOT?
Definitely Prince! I like his attitude as an artist, and how he deals with the music business and fashion trends. He is always modern, he never limits himself to one style of music, he gives the impression that the music just flows out. I saw him in concert 4 times, and each time was amazing. His magnetism is enormous. Prince makes it possible to experiment a completely improvised jam session in a concert hall packed with thousands of people.

HOW WAS IT TO WORK ON NEW VECTORS, BASED ON ICONIC ‘COCA-COLA’ IMAGES?
When we got contacted to work on the Remix project, we were really happy because ‘Coca-Cola’ is a very interesting brand to work for. It’s a company with a very rich history in the world of art and advertising and with a very special emphasis in music.
In our posters we used vector elements from other Remix artists, and artists as Creative XL and Pixecute remixed some of our illustrations. It was very cool to exchange material. It was a very interesting experience to work with such a range of great artists, all with a different vision and style.

‘Coca-Cola’ Remix – “Shampoo Girls”
by Caos CC & RockAndRoll Agency

“Coca-Cola’ Remix – “Sisters are doin’ it”
by Caos CC & RockAndRoll Agency

‘Coca-Cola’ Remix – “Summer Day” by Caos CC & RockAndRoll Agency

Vintage Coca-Cola Football Ads

‘Coca-Cola’ Remix by Creative XL

‘Coca-Cola’ Remix by Pixecute

ARTIST PORTRAIT
Karoly Kiralyfalvi has been involved in street-art since his teen years, “As a kid, I was always interested in visual arts, but the main influence came from my father, who was a painter, a poet and a sculptor. Pencils and markers were always my tools, until one day my father bought our first computer. Computer graphics have been my passion ever since”. As a teenager, Karoly became part of the local scene and under the name Extraverage, he made a name for himself. With his great skills, he mixes different styles and art languages in a powerful way. His work includes design for stickers, cans, clocks, magazines, books, posters, boards, tracksuits and t-shirts. Karoly is especially interested in design and images that stand on their own: bold, simple and strong!
Karoly is also the man behind projects like the World Wide Connections PDF Magazine and the Print4Street urban art gallery, and the founder of Drezign.hu, a community platform for Hungarian designers. Extraverage.net, his personal portfolio, features an extensive catalogue of his amazing graphics.

INTERVIEW

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING AS A DESIGNER?
In high school I was already making illustrations for a course book. My first official job was in 2001, as a graphic designer and DTP editor of an urban lifestyle magazine. That was also the time I switched from analogue design to computers.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
The inspiration for my work comes from everyday life, like the city itself, friends, music (mainly from the 1997-2000 electronic scene from the UK), books, contemporary art, traveling, … I’m also very inspired by my father, who was a multi-disciplined artist.

WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM PROJECT AS AN ARTIST?
The greatest thing is to work for projects in the same scene I’m interested in. For example working for brands that support the underground music scene, urban artists, and things like these.
Another nice example is of course a global collaboration project with great designers around the world, like the current Remix Project for ‘Coke’. It’s always really interesting to see the end results.

HOW DID THE ‘COCA-COLA’ HISTORY AND THEMES INFLUENCE YOUR REMIX WORK?
I tried consciously to use the warm ‘Coca-Cola’ colours, and to focus on positive feelings and shapes in the graphics. The aim was to create something happy and fresh, in line with the iconic ‘Coca-Cola’ images.

WHAT INTERESTS YOU MOST IN ‘THE COKE SIDE OF LIFE’ REMIX PROJECT?
Actually the basic idea of the Remix Project: give a blank canvas to an artist and let him work around a theme. The briefing gave us endless possibilities to experiment. This liberty was the biggest inspiration.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IDEA IN RELATION TO THE “YES IN THE FACE OF NO” THEME?
The “Yes in the face of No” was quite hard to handle, my first feeling was to show the impact of the ‘yes’ and the ‘no’. The ‘yes’ is colourful and positive, and fights with ‘no’ in a friendly way. Of course you always hope that the ‘yes’ will win…

DID IT TAKE LONG TO FIND YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?
It took long years, and the reason is that I’m always open to new things; always trying to create fresh versions of my artworks, trying new directions. Nowadays, I feel there’s a style I’m recognizable for…

CAN YOU SHARE ANY INSIGHTS IN YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
Ninety percent of my graphic works is planned in my head first and then realized with computer. The basic shapes and the main impulse of each job is based on my experience and style. Then you have to mix concept & style correctly.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING?
Actually in front of my computer, working on personal projects. Or somewhere in the streets, riding a bike. In luckier cases, I’m abroad!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
Always simple, pure and fresh.

Lumbered with the Fred Flintstone image for years, tenpin bowling has recently found a retro-cool status among the young and the fashionable.
If you travel to Atlanta, hometown of ‘Coca-Cola’, you should check out the new Ten Pin Alley in Atlantic Station. The place is owned by cool cats Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama, servers wear vintage-inspired bowling shirts and the dj plays very groovy tunes. So ‘pick a cherry’ and ‘hammer the pocket’. Fabulous atmosphere and a guaranteed good time!

For all the bowlin’ lovers out there: here you can see an original ‘Coca-Cola’ poster from the forties plus the Remix version. Enjoy!