Experiential Design
Coca-Cola’s history has always been more than the story of a beverage—it’s a story of innovation, cultural impact, and the moments people share around the world. For the latest evolution of The World of Coca-Cola experience, our team partnered with The Coca-Cola Company to craft a series of interconnected digital moments that celebrate the brand’s past, present, and future.
From immersive storytelling to interactive play to futuristic installations that guard the most famous recipe on Earth, each piece was designed to deepen guest engagement while elevating the magic and mythos of Coca-Cola.
Coke Studio
The Studios at World of Coca-Cola is an all-new interactive exhibit that invites guests to step into a bold world of creativity where Coca-Cola's influence on art, music, fashion, sports, and entertainment comes to life. Here, visitors can remix, reimagine, and co-create through hands-on experiences that celebrate pop culture and personal expression.
Whether exploring curated galleries or making your own music and designs, The Studios offers a vibrant and immersive way to connect with the brandʼs cultural legacy.
First Influencer | Greeter
A Gibson Girl-Inspired AI Host
As guests enter The Studios, theyʼre greeted by an AI-driven character inspired by the Gibson Girl era—the dawn of celebrity endorsements. She blends historical design with contemporary AI performance, offering a warm welcome that bridges past and present forms of “influencerˮ.
AI Character Development
Using the Iconic Gibson Girl styling, the AI persona was constructed using reference from real features, and began as a 2D composite image. That base image then informed the generative prompts used to establish our character.
Motion & Character testing
One of the challenges with AI generation is maintaining the same character and persona in each output. We dedicated time to developing a system that ensures consistent reproduction of our character. This often required several attempts with each prompt entry. AI does not generate identical results with each iteration, and in some cases, multiple refinements of the prompt were necessary to achieve the desired outcome.
Taking a sip
Creating the effect of AI taking a sip was quite a challenge! After several iterations and experimenting with different AI models, we discovered a solution that yielded natural motion and a convincing “sip” expression, all while preserving the shape and volume of the iconic Coca-Cola glass bottle. We also incorporated post-production VFX and tracking where necessary to ensure consistency with the label.
Results
As guests enter the Coke Studio exhibit, the AI Influencer greets them. Next to the LED panel, there is a Coke bottle that guests can twist the bottlecap. With each twist, the influencer moves from a traditional idle pose into one of four genres: Sports, Art, Fashion, or Music.
The Hall of Collabs
Coke’s Cultural Footprint
Visitors walk through a hallway lined with display cases showcasing over 150 rare objects and collections, ranging from Olympic memorabilia to fashion collaborations. Each display features a series of high-energy sizzle videos that celebrate Coca-Cola's partnerships in soccer, music, fashion, collectibles, and the Olympics.
Coca-Cola asked for 5 videos; Olympics, Fashion, Soccer, Music and Collectables. Each video runs as a dynamic content loop, surrounded by Coca-Cola collectable history.
Motion Design - The initial brief outlined a visual journey showcasing some of Coca-Cola's most memorable moments. This journey was to be accompanied by a scripted soundtrack and music bed. However, as the project progressed and live testing took place in the exhibit, it became clear that the decision to remove the soundtrack was necessary. The competing sounds from surrounding exhibits and the close proximity of the screens made it difficult to hear each story effectively. Instead, animated captions that complemented the video design were integrated into each narrative. The final result is a dynamic visual experience highlighting Coca-Cola’s history of collaboration.
The Moment A FIFA Attractor
In preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Elevation developed a captivating looping attract video using Coca-Cola's global campaign photography. Light animations add movement to still images, featuring floating particles, shifting lighting, and atmospheric flares to create a dynamic introduction to the experience. Changes in image scale, transitioning from a single picture to a mosaic of images, draw the viewer's attention to the two floor-to-ceiling curved LED screens, inviting the audience to interact and create their own World Cup magic.
UX Design - Elevation needed to create multiple screen designs for an interactive touchscreen panel. Users can make various selections to create their ideal fan- or player-AI-generated selfie. The interface was designed to be simple and user-friendly, allowing for easy navigation without requiring extensive instructions. To begin, the user selects a fan or player and then takes a photo using the facial registration screen. While the four image options are being generated, the interface remains active, showcasing a series of FIFA-style photo animations. Once the images are ready, the user makes a final selection, which is then displayed on a large curved LED screen. The selected image remains on the LED screen, allowing the user to pose and take their photo in front of the display.
Beverage Lab A Dynamic Brand Universe
Visitors start their experience in the Beverage Lab with a captivating cinematic video that highlights the wide range of brands under the Coca-Cola Company umbrella. The video features bold motion design, sharp product visuals, and a fast-paced edit that effectively showcases the energy, diversity, and global reach of TCCC’s portfolio right from the very first moment inside the space.
To help guests explore Coca-Cola’s legacy of flavor innovation, we designed an interactive timeline that highlights TCCC’s most important taste milestones.
The experience is tactile, intuitive, and rich with product history—inviting guests to swipe through decades of breakthroughs, limited releases, and world-changing launches.
Credits
Client: The Coca-Cola Company
Creative Director - Digital and Physical Experiences: Scott Hickman
Creative Content Manager at World of Coca-Cola: Erin Lothner
Production Company: Elevation
Executive Creative Director: Stephen Cocks
Producer: David Hendrix
Art Director: Dianne Frisbee
Producer: Alina Klopach
Senior Animator: Sean Kiley
Designer / Animator: Daniel Cooper