How consistency is key to good branding

he latest Coca-Cola refresh has attracted plenty of debate.

“It’s not different enough.”

“It doesn’t follow current design trends.”

Personally, I think that’s exactly the point.

When your brand is one of the most recognisable on the planet, you don’t reinvent it. You reinforce it.

JKR’s work doesn’t try to create a new Coca-Cola. It simply amplifies the assets that have made the brand iconic for over 140 years – the red and white palette, the Dynamic Ribbon, the Arden Square, classic typography and an unwavering confidence in what already works.

Good brands don’t chase trends. They build memory.

This one struck a personal chord.

A few years back, well OK… MANY years ago, just a few months after joining the then McCann Erickson, I was given what felt like the dream brief for any young designer: work on designing the new Coca-Cola can for the UK market.

The UK team wasn’t happy with some of the designs arriving from the US, so we were asked to explore alternative can concepts. Back then we didn’t even have a colour printer in house, so much of the artwork was coloured by hand.

The brief was beautifully simple:
Respect the heritage.
Confidence and clarity.
Contemporise (yes, that was in the brief!)
Improve shelf impact.
Use the ribbon.
Stay true to Coca-Cola red and white.
Options using current ‘Always’ advertising line.

Over the next five years I was fortunate enough to design everything from retail environments and merchandise to TV promotions for the brand.

The biggest lesson I learnt wasn’t about graphic design.
It was about consistency.

A brand isn’t just a logo or a colour palette. It’s a promise that people recognise instantly.

Yet so many organisations invest heavily in creating a brilliant brand, only to slowly dilute it. Different layouts. Different fonts. Different imagery. Logos used inconsistently. New interpretations every time a campaign or agency changes.

Before long, recognition becomes confusion.

The psychology is simple: our brains remember what they see repeatedly. Consistency builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust builds value.

That doesn’t mean brands should become boring.
The strongest brands surprise and delight all the time. They evolve. They flex. They tell new stories.
But they always feel unmistakably like themselves.
That’s confidence.

If you’re going to invest in creating a great brand, invest just as much in protecting it. Because consistency isn’t a creative limitation.

It’s one of the greatest commercial advantages a brand can have.

Could that be what gives your brand the best chance of becoming the next Coca-Cola?