This simple shape turned the Coca-Cola logo into a timeless icon

Today, Coca-Cola has one of the most iconic brand identities in the world—so iconic, in fact, that one 2010s study found that “Coca‑Cola” is the second‑most widely understood term in the world after the word “okay.” But the brand’s modern global footprint might look entirely different if it weren’t for one major design overhaul in 1969 called Project Arden.

[Photo: The Coca-Cola Company]

That pivotal era of Coca-Cola’s history is the focus of the new book, Brand Identification Manuals for Coca-Cola...